General Conference Review: President Monson "The Stronger the Wind, The Stronger the Trees"

Conference is coming up.  I am so excited and like always, feel a need to read everything from last conference over again so that I can make sure it got in there.  That I internalized what I was told, that I taught it to my children.  So, in an effort to do just that, I've been doing little lessons with my kids to help all of us hear the words of the prophet a little better.  There are some amazing moms out there, like this one, that have great ideas for reviewing and teaching our kids.

First up, the talk President Monson gave on Sunday morning called "I Will Not Fail Thee, Or Forsake Thee."  It was tender to hear the prophet talk about the passing of his sweet wife, to see that regardless of our calling or station in life, trials come to all of us.  He tells us that trials are not meant to crush us, but to teach us and help us learn the things that only a kind Father can teach us when we are willing to see His hand.  I think it is easy to feel that God has left us alone sometimes, but He is always there.  It is our blessing to ENDURE.  To let the wind blow around us, but stay firmly rooted to the ground, to the Lord, then we can know that the hard times are meant to make us better.

For family night this last week, we talked about how Sister Monson died, we talked about Job, we talked about my amazing Grandma Holgate who is fighting pancreatic cancer, and how a lot of times good people are given hard things.  The Lord knows what we need to develop and grow and I am so glad that he lets us learn to stand strong amid the wind.

I cut out a tree design out of cardboard and the kids went to town with newspaper paper mache.  We talked about how wind blows by all trees, but some don't have strong roots and are ripped out of the ground.  When we reach to the Lord in our trials, it gives us a solid foundation.

When the tree was drying we talked about some of the points he teaches us:

• Trials are meant to make us stronger.
• He will always help us.  We need to PRAY.
• We can always feel His love.
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This poem also stuck out:

Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees.

The further sky, the greater length.

The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow

To get my two-year-old twins up and moving, we pretended we were trees blowing in the wind and talked about the way we can always feel the Lord's love.  We wrote some of these on little flower circles and added them to make this lovely masterpiece.  I love that is a good visual reminder.

 "Difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before. This should be our purpose—to persevere and endure, yes, but also to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and sorrow."

I am so grateful that the Lord pushes us to progress, to move forward.  Oftentimes, I feel like I am fighting what the Lord wants me to become, but when I trust Him enough to see Him and love Him in the hard times, I know that is when the miracles happen.  Changes happen.  I see Him better and love Him more dearly.