Facing a New Year with Courage and Resilience
Facing a New Year with Courage and Resilience
By Tami Allen
Many years ago, my husband was a priest quorum advisor in our ward, and for their super activity that year, they decided to hike and camp in Havasupi for the week. The hike into Havasupi went quite well, and the boys had an amazing time camping, swimming, and sightseeing. When it came time to hike out, however, it was a much more difficult and demanding hike. Many of the boys reached their limit about halfway up the steep hill. They had gotten up especially early, about 4 a.m., in order to reach the summit before the Arizona summer heat kicked in. They were physically exhausted and emotionally drained. My husband was the leader at the end of the group who was trying to keep everyone motivated and encouraged. There was one boy in particular, however, who sat down and declared that he wasn’t going to hike another step. No matter how my husband pleaded and coaxed, he refused to move, declaring instead, “I would rather die on this mountain than take one more step.” They were now falling pretty far behind the rest of the group, and my husband soon realized that he would have to carry this young man if he were to make it any further. So, he proceeded to put this young man on his back, and start hiking up the mountain. They stopped to rest many times, and after about an hour on his back, the hill started to get less steep, and the young man was able to finish the hike on his own two feet with a little prodding and a lot of prayers.
The next week at church, this young man bore testimony of his experience at Havasupi, and the grueling hike that “almost killed him”. He thanked my husband for his help and for being so patient with him, and for carrying him when he was ready to give up. He proceeded to say that this was probably one of the hardest things he would ever have to do in his life, and he was grateful for someone who would walk along beside him, and even carry him when things got so rough that he was ready to give up. I remember being so touched by his testimony, but also so concerned for this young man. I knew that this experience had certainly been hard for him, no doubt. But I also knew from my own experiences that this would be the first of many difficult challenges that he would face in his lifetime. There would certainly be many more difficult mountains to climb, and indeed, many more times that it would be easier for him to sit down and give up rather than face the rough road ahead. In order for him to make it to the summit, he would have to dig deep and find the courage, faith, and fortitude to keep moving ahead, and keep going. This kind of courage is best known as resilience, and it is a trait that we all need to develop and work on if we are going to be able to conquer the mountains each of us will certainly face in this life.
Perhaps the topic of resilience is on my mind because this last month, our family made a huge move from Arizona to Utah. Because of this, we have all collectively been thrown into a world of change, uncertainty, and anxiety. It has been interesting as a mother to watch the way my children who are still at home have handled this change, and it has prompted several discussions about ways that they can work through this huge adjustment. One thing keeps coming to my mind over and over again, and it is the need for all of us to develop increased resilience. In a talk called, “Resilience--Spiritual Armor for Today’s Youth”, Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy said,
“Because we love our children, we want to see them succeed. We may be tempted to remove obstacles from their path, which would make us ‘snow plow parents’. Or to minimize their disappointment and failure, we may be tempted to do the hard work for them. When we do so, however, we may be unwittingly impeding our children from developing the resilience they need to be strong, independent disciples of Christ...We should consider the Savior’s approach. Rather than remove our burdens, He strengthens us to ‘bear up our burdens’ (Mosiah 24:15). Often, He does not come to our rescue as quickly as we would like.” (D&C 121:1-3)
In this life, none of us are exempt from challenges, difficulties, sorrow and disappointment. Each of us will have our own difficult mountains to climb and each of us will also have moments when we are tempted to sit down and declare, “I would rather die on this mountain than take one more step.” It is during those times that we need to dig deep and find the resilience that we need to move forward, knowing that our Savior is with us every step of the way. He will strengthen us to bear up our burdens, He will send angels to assist us, and He will even carry us when the road is just too difficult and too steep for us to climb any further. Elder Robbins says it perfectly:
“It is the hardships, the struggling, and the stretching that help us develop resilience—the ability to get up, dust ourselves off, and continue on the strait and narrow path. That path is often steep and rocky, and we will all have our share of stumbles and setbacks. It is the Lord’s gift of unlimited second chances that enables us to move forward with resilience.”
My prayer for my family during this new year with our own new challenges, is the same as my prayer for you. Whatever mountain you are facing, I pray you will have the strength, courage, and resilience you need to put one foot in front of the other and keep climbing a little each day. And when the road gets too rough, or the mountain gets too steep, I pray the Lord will help carry you until you can get back on your feet.
