A Reflection Upon a Novel I Recently Read and Other Stories

I received this book for Christmas and had no time to read it until I suddenly had a full day of traveling to the east coast and another full day of traveling back (pics to come ...).  It is simply wonderful.  It's a rather simple read and not what I would usually spend precious reading time on, but I read it out of obligation and I'm glad I did.  If you ever wanted to know about the journey involved with change, this is an excellent book.  Changing is not easy.  It's never been that way, and it never will be.  It takes work, and it takes effort.  Change is something none of us looks forward to, but each of us has to experience.  We must go through the Lord's refining fires to change us from the natural man.  Every day can be a struggle and require so much willpower and force that we shudder to think of the great effort we could possibly put forth.  But the fruits of those efforts are sweeter than the icing on the cake.

I recently related to a friend the old adage that had helped me through so much of my sophomore year: "God won't give you anything you can't handle."  It set off an unpleasant moment and made me feel quite upset.  I've thought about that saying since then and the changes that it had helped me to go through.  I knew that those changes had strongly tested my own abilities and boundaries.  It didn't seem right that God would give me more than I could handle.  After all, I ended my sophomore year on a good note and I've handled everything else that I've been called to endure.  Wasn't I stronger than I had originally thought?  Just yesterday, I found this.

Oh, boy.  What a wake up call.  Christ, through his atonement, gives us the extra power and strength that we need to endure this crazy thing called life.  Yes, friend, you were right.  God sometimes gives us more than we can handle.  But He's there to help us every step of the way.  I didn't do it all and I have never completely handled anything given to me without his help.  No matter the trial, no matter the test, no matter the struggle, no matter the willpower and force, God has helped me to handle what He's given me.  And it's made me realize my reliance on him more than ever.  And perhaps, in a way, that has made me stronger.  But the real glory and wonder of making it, of handling life, goes to Christ and His atonement.