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Learning to Trust Him
October 2000


“Learning to Trust Him,” Ensign, Oct. 2000, 62

Learning to Trust Him

My daughter, Katie, and I had been alone for a year after my painful divorce. My concerns about spending time with her and being available to teach her correct principles added to the weight of my worries about supporting the two of us. With Katie’s heart defects and my diabetes and resulting complications, we were an expensive pair medically.

My health had been getting increasingly worse from the stress of my job and dealing with my situation as a single parent. My eyes had been hemorrhaging, I was experiencing problems with some internal organs, the nerves in my extremities were painful, and my medications were causing extreme tiredness. I knew I couldn’t continue working as I had, and I was fearful for my own health as well as Katie’s.

I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I thought of Mosiah 24:14, where the Lord says He will “ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs.” All I could do was put myself in the Lord’s hands.

I remember kneeling down and, in my prayers, giving myself up to the will of the Lord. I thought about how the only thing that mattered was that Katie and I live so that we might return to our Father in Heaven. I told Heavenly Father that my life was in His hands, and I asked to know His will and promised I would do it. I knew I had to trust in Him completely. For the first time, I realized I didn’t need to hold back at all.

As time went on, I tried to do all the things that would put me in a better position to receive inspiration. I earnestly sought to know His will. By completely trusting, I gradually became free from fear and began to make changes in my life. I began to think of ways to work at home and to feel the courage to pursue those ideas. I developed new and fulfilling relationships with others. The resulting peace, comfort, and happiness were overwhelming.

Several months later I was blessed with the kind of marriage I had always dreamed of. My health improved to the point I could discontinue some of my medications, and after five open-heart surgeries my dear Katie is doing well. I know with all my heart that the Lord lives, that He loves us, and that He will bless our lives beyond comprehension if we will trust in Him.

  • Suzy Sutherland is a member of the Oakridge Eighth Ward, Farmington Utah Oakridge Stake.