Stuck in Snow

A while back, I was pulling out of a driveway after a snowstorm. I was in my Mom's GMC Envoy in four wheel drive. The driveway was not yet plowed and it was out on a country road so the snow was pretty high. I tried backing straight out but ended up getting stuck; the back wheels were stuck spinning helplessly. In an effort to pack the snow down, I went forward again before going backwards. Several more attempts left me still stuck in the snow. A surge of panic settled in the pit of my stomach as I tried to find a way out of this driveway. In one last attempt to get out of the snow, I went forward at an angle and then revved the Envoy into reverse. I made it onto the road. The rush of adrenaline finally faded as I drove away.

 I'm at a point in my life where I feel like I'm stuck in the snow. I keep trying to move forward or backward but my wheels seem to be stuck spinning helplessly. I've been struggling with post mission blues and the anxiety and stress that comes with searching for a "grown-up" job in my chosen field. I'll have days where I feel like it's finally going my way. Then I'll have days where I feel weighed down by the heavy weight of self-inflicted pressures to be an adult. I know that a big part of the problem is that I'm not being patient. 

"I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen- patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort... Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can- working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardships with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!" -Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Continue in Patience 

 Patience means active waiting and enduring. Patience isn't about sitting around waiting for stuff to happen. It means continuing to move forward with the hope that what you're waiting for is going to happen. That's so hard! Patience has to be one of the hardest virtues to develop. But it's also very worthwhile.

"We will get promptings of the Spirit when we have done everything we can, when we are out in the sun working rather than sitting back in the shade praying for direction on the first step to take. Revelation comes when the children of God are on the move. So we do all we can. Then we wait upon the Lord for His revelation. He has his own timetable." -Elder Dallin H. Oaks In His Own Time, In His Own Way 

Part of patience is trusting in the Lord and His time. Do I? I think I'm learning. Part of mortality is continual learning. We're not going to have all the answers at any one point of our lives. I certainly don't have all the answers. But I'm learning the answers I need now. Patience. Humility. Diligence. And enduring well even when I feel like I'm stuck in a snow bank with my wheels spinning as I try to get out. It'll all be worth it in the end.

I know it.

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, 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 & Covenants 123:17

Smile Always,

Chuck