Gratitude on a Rainy Day

By Julieta Arevyan de Álvarez

It was rainy and brisk, the kind of day in México I like to be at home, spending time with my four children. I was reading a copy of the Liahona (Spanish) when I felt the warmth of the Holy Ghost reminding me how blessed my life has been. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I remembered.

I was barely 17 when two missionaries knocked on our door; my mother was recently divorced and had five children. At the time I accepted only what could be proved by sight or touch or logic. So when my mother let the elders in, I was angry. I listened to the discussions but kept my distance. All the family members but me agreed to be baptized.

One night the elders came to our home. Elder Álvarez spoke to me in a tone I had never heard before: “We have taught you all you need to know and have invited you to change your life. Now we come in the name of Jesus Christ to ask you to kneel before that God whose existence you deny and ask Him if the things we have told you are true. Do you accept our challenge—or are you afraid?”

Afraid? That word was not in my vocabulary. I could ride a horse and hunt as well as most men. I would have put a rattlesnake around my neck if someone had dared me to.

“I accept,” I said.

It was hard to sleep that night. I kept thinking of the challenge I had accepted: Why had I done it? How could I bow down before an invisible being? The truth was, I was afraid.

The next day I waited until everyone left the house before I went to the top of the building. There, I knelt down and began, “Father in Heaven …” Then I stopped. A strong wind was blowing, and I felt vulnerable. My senses were tuned to every sound, and I didn’t dare open my eyes. I felt utterly alone.

Suddenly I felt protected, and I had the courage to go on. I asked to know if God existed. I asked for understanding. I asked to feel. I asked and asked. And before I knew it, I was crying—asking forgiveness for having doubted. I felt a burning in my heart and knew beyond any doubt that God existed and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was His Church. As I arose, I saw grit embedded in my knees and realized I had been praying for a long time.

How much love the Father must have for me—indeed for all of us! Not only did He give me His gospel, He also gave me a righteous husband to help me take full advantage of it. Some of the greatest blessings of my life are the promises my husband and I received when we were sealed in the temple.

My life is not easier than anyone else’s. On occasion, my family has wanted for the necessities of life. But as long as we have the Lord as our companion, we have found no problem too difficult. Sometimes we do not see His intentions and must simply trust in Him. I am eternally grateful for His love.