Note: There are exceptions to everything I say, and I believe that every person and situation is different.
I once had a remarkable friend who, during a talk, mentioned a certain line in her Patriarchal blessing, which indicated that many of the trials in her life would actually be blessings in disguise.
The more I think about blessings, the more I realize they are much like challenges, in that they are specific and individual to each person. We all hear about how everyone has their own set of problems in this life, but we rarely think the same way of blessings, and this is dangerous. There is no magic formula to explain why certain people receive certain blessings in this life, just as there is no magic formula to determine why certain people receive certain trials.
Blessings come from God. Beyond that, I cannot say what causes them: while we are promised blessings for certain actions, we are not promised specific blessings for specific actions. For example, I could not say that because I never missed a day of church in my life, all my kids would always be faithful in the gospel. Or, if I've always done my visiting teaching, there is no guarantee that I will have a visiting teacher who regularly teaches me.
I can truthfully say that I've always tried to be faithful, and I've always tried to keep the commandments. I can also truthfully say that I've always had my basic needs met. Those two are somehow tied together, but it is impossible to define how.
Temporal blessings cannot be used as an indication of one's spirituality or standing before God either, just as trials cannot be used to judge one's spirituality. This is, in fact, because they are temporal. Anything temporal cannot measure or quantify one's relationship to God.
In the end, I must conclude that it is good to recognize all good things as from God. It is good to thank Him for our blessings. It is good to remember that no one is promised certain blessings if they do certain things. It is good to remember that blessings, like challenges, are given to each of us individually.
It's also good to remember that sometimes, our greatest blessings and our greatest challenges are actually the same thing.
2 comments:
OK two comments.... first off why does it say posted at 12:49 am when you said you were trying to be in bed by midnight?? Tisk tisk! Anyways secondly.. you are awesome! Thanks for always being so amazing and for sharing your testimony on many things as well as being a great example!
We have only one firm, iron-clad, unequivocal promise in this life: if we endure well whatever comes our way, we'll be blessed beyond mortal imagination in eternity. For anything more than that we rely on faith that God knows what he's doing.
I agree that blessings and trials tend to be interchangeable.
I agree that you are awesome and blessed with deep insights.
Keep it up.
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