There’s a part of me that thinks if I learn my lessons quickly enough, then the trial might end sooner. ⁣

But sometimes… the trial is just the worst. ⁣

It’s heavy. It’s no fun. There’s no end in sight. ⁣

And I can’t find even a shred of a lesson to be learned anywhere. ⁣

Except… just endure. ⁣⁣

Several years ago, I endured a few months of a severe trial. ⁣

It was kicking my booty. ⁣

And then, the trial was over. ⁣

I felt so much better, lighter, more free…⁣

But I still didn’t know what lesson I was supposed to learn from it. ⁣

I thought I would get clarity afterwards. But the trial just seemed dark still, even looking back. ⁣

Hmmmm. Maybe there wasn’t a lesson to learn other than that life is just hard sometimes. ⁣

One day, a friend called me and told me about her latest trial. ⁣

It was exactly what I had experienced. ⁣

I turned into full-on empathy mode. I told her to complain to me. I constantly checked in with her. ⁣

I told her that I knew this was the worst, and that there wasn’t much that was going to make it better and that I was so sorry. ⁣

And then I heard about someone else I didn’t know super well who was going through the same trial. ⁣

It felt a little awkward at first, but I knew I needed to reach out and lend an understanding listening ear. ⁣

Finally one evening, I reflected. ⁣

What if THAT was the blessing?⁣

What if the blessing of my trial was the empathy that I gained for others? For the future acts of service I could perform because I perfectly understood how crushing it was to endure? ⁣

The Lord taught in D&C 103:12: “For after much tribulation… cometh the blessing.”⁣

Sometimes the blessings are evident during the trial. Sometimes they are evident right afterwards. ⁣

But sometimes… sometimes it’s not until after. ⁣

Long after. ⁣

That we begin to see what the blessing might have been.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Loooong after the trial  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s not that I didn’t care.

It just didn’t seem like a big deal to me.

… And then I got pregnant with my first child.

And I got SUPER sick.

After surviving (literally) that pregnancy, anytime someone shared how sick they were while pregnant, I would empathize with every little detail!

And now I’ve endured two more of those difficult pregnancies.

When people I know are pregnant, I let them vent endlessly.

I try to check in on them often.

In fact, it’s like this super sense of empathy that I’ve now developed for my fellow sisters who have to deal with any illness during pregnancy.

What hard things have you gone through?

Have you noticed how you begin to empathize with and love other people who are going through similar trials?

There seems to be a special connection that forms. ⁣

And it all stems from God. ⁣

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

“Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

God knows how to comfort us when we need it.

So when we have to go through our own trials, we gain the ability to comfort others with that specific need.

It’s almost like a unique spiritual gift that we develop!

We can be the hands of God and comfort in the ways He would.

Considering the trials you’ve had to navigate in your life so far, what are your “comforting” superpowers that you can reach out with to the people around you?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Comfort the way we are comforted first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

So many times, a trial gets thrown my way, and I start to think, “What am I supposed to learn from this?”

There’s a part of me that thinks if I learn my lessons quickly enough, then the trial might end sooner.

But sometimes… the trial is just the worst.

It’s heavy. It’s no fun. There’s no end in sight.

And I can’t find even a shred of a lesson to be learned anywhere.

Except… just endure.

Several years ago, I endured a few months of a severe trial.

It was kicking my booty.

And then, the trial was over.

I felt so much better, lighter, more free…

But I still didn’t know what lesson I was supposed to learn from it.

I thought I would get clarity afterwards. But the trial just seemed dark still, even looking back.

Hmmmm. Maybe there wasn’t a lesson to learn other than that life is just hard sometimes.

One day, a friend called me and told me about her latest trial.

It was exactly what I had experienced.

I turned into full-on empathy mode. I told her to complain to me. I constantly checked in with her.

I told her that I knew this was the worst, and that there wasn’t much that was going to make it better and that I was so sorry.

And then I heard about someone else I didn’t know super well who was going through the same trial.

It felt a little awkward at first, but I knew I needed to reach out and lend an understanding listening ear.

Finally one evening, I reflected.

What if THAT was the blessing?

What if the blessing of my trial was the empathy that I gained for others? For the future acts of service I could perform because I perfectly understood how crushing it was to endure?

The Lord taught in D&C 103:12: “For after much tribulation… cometh the blessing.“

Sometimes the blessings are evident during the trial. Sometimes they are evident right afterwards.

But sometimes… sometimes it’s not until after.

Long after.

That we begin to see what the blessing might have been.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Where is the blessing? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.