Some Thoughts on Carrying On
I’ve spent two weeks recently studying out the story of Joseph of Egypt from the Old Testament and his recorded prophecies that are quoted in the Book of Mormon, and have come to some realizations about life and expectations, and hard things and what my courageous response can be, and shared it all with my kids.
If you know the story from the animated movie, Joseph: King of Dreams, or from the broadway musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, you know some of the basics.
One of the questions I was asked often as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Maybe you’ve had this same question…It’s a question I have asked myself many times as I navigate through life and see so much suffering all around us. Joseph must have surely wondered this same question as he experienced some of the worst betrayals and conditions when he was only trying to do the right thing.
It’s hard not to notice when success comes to people who cheat and lie. Or when tragedy hits those who are good and kind to their core. It’s not fair. It’s no wonder people ask, where is God?
The opening passage in my study guide, Come Follow Me, captures this question with such a peaceful answer:
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Life teaches us that lesson clearly, and so does the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob. He was heir to the covenant God had made with his fathers, but he was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery. He refused to compromise his integrity when approached by Potiphar’s wife and so was cast into prison. It seemed that the more faithful he was, the more hardship he faced. But all this adversity was not a sign of God’s disapproval. In fact, through it all, “the Lord was with him” (Genesis 39:3). Joseph’s life was a manifestation of this important truth: God will not forsake us. “Following the Savior will not remove all of your trials,” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught. “However, it will remove the barriers between you and the help your Heavenly Father wants to give you. God will be with you” (“A Yearning for Home,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 22). His story is filled with the extremities of life experience and yet throughout the many hardships the scriptures say, “The Lord was with Joseph.”
Don’t you love that affirming truth that adversity is not a sign of God’s disapproval? It’s also not a sign of His abandonment, or lack of love or care for us. Of course, it’s super easy to read the rest of Joseph’s story and see how God “meant it for good” and created a saving story with many joys and blessings. Hindsight is always 20/20, after all. But I wonder how Joseph felt in the middle of the low points. I wonder if his faith felt weak at times and if he wondered why God was allowing these bad things to happen to him.
John Beck, former NFL and BYU quarterback shared:
I love how Christ wants us to feel the humanness that we all have so that we will turn to Him: that’s part of the beauty of the gospel.
And I think that’s true. Mortality with all it’s “thorns and thistles” is part of this life experience and whether you’re a saint or seeking evil, we all get to experience it all. The difference between choosing to trust God and seek to understand AND do His will is that it “removes the barriers” between us and the help that He wants to give us. And that’s powerful. When things are really hard, we tend to look up. When we feel our humanness, our imperfections, we look to the source of help and peace that is real and lasting.
On my walk a few days ago I listened to the Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast #35. “For the Good of the Order for Everyone Waiting for News,” and while she was talking about all the high school seniors right now facing amazing acceptance letters or dreaded rejection ones, I loved the short story she shared about a farmer in his fields. I had my kids listen to this “because it’s about the folly that we are all so prone to of trying to predict what will and will not make us happy.”
I’ll recap the story. It’s been circulating for thousands of year and it’s worth taking in and considering when hard things come, or good fortune arrives…we all get all ends of the spectrum, right?
It’s about a farmer who had a horse. One morning the horse ran away and all his neighbors said, “Oh! That’s terrible,” to which the farmer said something like, “We’ll see.” And he went back to tending his crops the best he could.
The next day the horse came back with two more horses. And all his neighbors said, “Wow! That’s amazing! You’re so lucky!” To which the farmer replied, “We’ll see.” And he went back to tending his crops the best he could.
The next day his son tried to ride one of the new horses and he was bucked off and broke his leg. The neighbors all said, “Oh no, this is terrible!” To which the farmer replied, “We’ll see.” And he went back to tending his crops the best he could.
The following day the Army came through the village drafting all the young men for war. The farmer’s son was passed over because he couldn’t serve with a broken leg. All the neighbors were astonished at the farmer’s good fortune to be able to keep his son home and safe. To which the farmer replied, “We’ll see.” And he went back to tending his crops the best he could.
The point is, it is impossible to predict whether getting exactly what we think we want is a good thing, or a bad thing, or a sometimes good and bad thing. Kelly says, “The single biggest determinant is YOU.”
Joseph constantly turned to God for help through it all, and I want to do the same. Joseph’s story and the farmer’s story remind me of something I know about Heavenly Father and Jesus for sure: They can make whatever happens to us, come together for our ultimate good.
Near the end of Joseph’s recorded story his father, Jacob, dies and Joseph’s brothers all assume that with their father gone whom Joseph so loved, that he would now exact his vengeance on them for their betrayal to him decades earlier. But Joseph’s perspective reveals so much about his heart and what he had learned through adversity. He assures them of his complete forgiveness and says, “God meant it unto good.”
I hope I can be like Joseph. I want to. And I hope I can be like the farmer and not get too caught up in the day-to-day ups and downs of life, because ultimately God can make it all for good. I want to stay focused on want matters most, like the farmer tending to his work and family, no matter what fortune or misfortune happens to come my way. Just keep going. Keep working. Keep learning and staying curious.
My kids loved this story. “We’ll see. Get back to tending your crops the best you can,” is no a regular thing we say in our house. We celebrate the good always recognizing the intent for which it is given (to do good) and we affirm love and worth through the bad, knowing we can learn through it for good, too.
Love,
Dayna
