“Finding Sunshine in the Rain,” Ensign, December 2020
Finding Sunshine in the Rain
By President Jean B. Bingham
Relief Society General President
When hard times weigh us down, how can we invite Christ to lift us up?
Images from Getty Images
Have you ever watched the weather change? As a child, I remember watching the clear, bright blue sky begin to dim as gray clouds rolled in and obscured the sun. The wind increased until it was furiously whipping the leaves on the trees and heavy raindrops started to pelt the ground. My mother would run out to gather the clean clothes hanging on the line, calling for us children to put our bicycles into the garage. Gathering what we could of things that might be ruined by the rain, we would all run to the house, but by then we were often soaking wet.
Situations in life can be similar to those storms. Without much warning, difficulties can arise that abruptly alter our lives and challenge our feelings of security. What do we do when the storms of life create difficulty, even havoc, in our lives?
1. Understand the purpose of mortality
We know our purpose on earth is to become more like our heavenly parents. Often that growth occurs through experiences that stretch us. Many of these learning experiences include sorrow and pain. In these moments, reflecting on what we can learn rather than dwelling on the difficulties will help us progress.
Trials are part of earth life. Some of our difficulties come because of our poor choices, some come from how other’s poor choices affect us, and some things just happen. Jesus Christ taught, “Your Father which is in heaven … maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).
Aaron, one of the sons of Mosiah who went on a mission to the Lamanites, had difficulties that his brother Ammon did not have, but it wasn’t because he was less righteous. “As it happened, it was [Aaron’s] lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people” (Alma 20:30).
Aaron’s response to his challenges was to rejoice that they created an opportunity to share the gospel with the king and many of his people, who “never did fall away” (Alma 23:6).
2. Choose faith
It takes faith to start anew after traumatic events, but when we choose to be faithful, there are promises to which we can look forward. In a favorite Primary song, we are reassured of this truth:
The Savior expressed it simply: “Nevertheless, he that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same shall overcome” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:20).
When hard experiences wrench our hearts, when fire destroys all our belongings, when a loved one dies, when our world is turned upside down by events over which we have no control, we can choose to continue in faith, walking one step into the darkness even when we don’t know exactly what will come in the future. We can say:
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.2
3. Increase in charity
What can we learn from bad things when they happen? We learn how to understand, support, and comfort one another. We can increase in compassion and empathy.
Sister Amy Jaggi remembers when the Relief Society president took her to the hospital. Amy was in preterm labor, and her husband was out of town. Her visiting teachers also provided comfort and support; one of them had lost two babies who were stillborn and understood what Amy was experiencing. Not long after the Jaggis’ baby died, a woman Amy visit taught also lost a child. Amy could say to her, “I’m here. I can hold you. I’m broken with you.”3
As covenant members of the Church, we recognize every individual as a brother or sister in the family of God and strive to express charity in all our interactions.
Act on the charitable thoughts that come to you. Mormon encourages us to recognize them as inspiration:
“I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ. …
“Every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God” (Moroni 7:3, 13; emphasis added).
4. Look to the future
We learn from difficult experiences when we look to God for answers rather than man. God’s ways are not man’s ways (see Isaiah 55:8–9), and even though things may be difficult in the present, we will be grateful when we look back and see the growth that has occurred during those difficult times. We can be still and know that “[our] God doth undertake to guide the future as he has the past.”4 Our hope and confidence in Him can be unshaken, and what we did not understand at the time will be made clear at the last.
Looking to the future with hope gives us strength for the present. Mormon wrote a letter to his son Moroni encouraging him to continue in his labors even when there seemed no reason for hope. This loving father wrote, “Be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which [you read or hear] grieve thee, to weigh thee down … ; but may Christ lift thee up, and may … the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever” (Moroni 9:25).
5. Find joy even in challenging times
And finally, finding joy in the midst of our trials lightens burdens and provides assurance of God’s constant care and love. “Therefore, … let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (Doctrine and Covenants 123:17; emphasis added).
When the challenges seem overwhelming, looking for the “silver lining” can soften the edges of tragedy and concern. Focusing on ways to support and lift others, noticing the natural beauty in the environment, expressing appreciation to others, and finding the fun and funny in our situation can help us remember that there is joy even in challenging times. My grandfather, when faced with a broken-down car full of children at the end of a long road out in the middle of nowhere, looked around and said with a cheerful grin, “Look at the fun we’re having!” Of course the children groaned, but ever after that, when a hard time came, they were the first to chime, “Look at the fun we’re having!”
There is sunshine ahead
During times of stormy weather, our family gathered inside for protection. Soon we became absorbed in other activities while the storm raged outside. After a time, I would look out the window and realize that the sun was out again, the rain had stopped, the clouds were rapidly disappearing, and the sky was a brilliant blue again. Yes, there were leaves on the ground that had been blown off the trees, some items had been tossed by the wind or flattened by the rain, and there were still puddles of water in low spots, but there was a feeling of hope and optimism in the freshly washed air.
God will never forsake His people. Wherever we are and whatever our situation, if we lean on Him, He will support us. So “lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand, or is not far distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies, notwithstanding our many strugglings … ; yet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made.
“Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God” (Mosiah 7:18–19; emphasis added).
Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are ever mindful of us. As we choose faith, increase in charity, and look to the future with hope, we can feel joy even in challenging times.