The Allergy Lesson

By Elder Hans T. Boom

Of the Seventy

From an interview with Sydney Squires.

When I was 10, I got very bad allergies. I normally played outside in the summer. Not that year! My allergies made it hard to breathe. I mostly stayed inside. Everything I wanted to do, like playing soccer, took a lot of extra energy.

After that year, my allergies came back every summer. We couldn’t find medicine that helped. But we did find that I could breathe better in the bathroom than anywhere else in the house. So from May to August I slept in the bathroom. My family didn’t complain. They let me sleep there every summer for five years.

Illustration by Mark Robison

At the start of each summer, my dad gave me a priesthood blessing. Year after year, he blessed me that my allergies would go away. My mom, sisters, and brother all prayed for me. But the blessings and prayers didn’t fix my allergies right away.

My allergies taught me a lot of important lessons during those five summers. I learned to do hard things. I learned to rest so I could use my energy wisely. I learned not to be afraid. Finally, when I grew older, my allergies did get better.

Today I can work hard for a long time, even after other people get tired. I still take time to rest so I can use my energy wisely. And I am not afraid, because I have faith in Jesus Christ.

It may sound funny, but today I am grateful that I had bad allergies! They were a blessing because of the lessons they taught.