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.

I asked around to everyone who could possibly help me out. ⁣

No solution yet. ⁣

The deadline was approaching and I still didn’t have an answer. ⁣

I prayed a lot. ⁣

I prayed and then followed through on every single action that came to my mind. ⁣

And still, no solution. ⁣

The deadline day came…⁣

And passed. ⁣⁣

Nothing. ⁣

I kept praying. ⁣

I was doing everything that I could do. And so I really leaned into my faith. ⁣

“Heavenly Father, I know that the perfect solution is out there, and I have faith that it will happen whenever it needs to happen best. In the meantime, I will do everything I can on my end.”⁣

It was really peaceful. ⁣

When friends would ask me if I had found a solution yet, I got in the habit of responding, “Nope, not yet, but I have faith it will come soon!”⁣

Two weeks. ⁣

Two very long weeks after the deadline had passed. ⁣

It took hard work to actively choose faith that a solution was on its way every single one of those days. ⁣

And then, it came. ⁣

A better solution than I could have even imagined. ⁣

Now, I could tell quite a few stories where I have NOT used my faith in God to bring me patience while I wait. Plenty of examples. ⁣

But this recent experience was really cool for me. ⁣

I felt buoyed up. Even as I “stepped into the darkness” for those two weeks, I visualized taking those dark steps, but still landing on something. ⁣

I just couldn’t see what it was yet, but I knew I eventually would. ⁣

“Waiting patiently on the Lord” (D&C 98:2) is something we are all asked to do at various times. ⁣

And I’ve learned through personal experience of this beautiful tie between patience and faith. ⁣

Patience, the kind of patience we have to endure when we know we’ve down absolutely as much as we can…⁣

Patience is really just having true faith that God is taking care of things in whatever way He chooses.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post How to be patient  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

That’s why I’ve always loved math. ⁣

And so when I have problems come up in my life, I want to fix them right away. ⁣

If I’m not feeling the Spirit in my life, then I need to figure out what is hindering me so that I can open myself up to inspiration again. ⁣

If I’m having a medical issue, I want to get the diagnosis quickly so that we can treat it appropriately. ⁣

If I’m waiting to make a decision, I try to get all the information and make the best decision that I can as soon as possible. ⁣

But I’ve noticed something in the scriptures. ⁣

The Lord never asks us to solve our afflictions. ⁣

Although I’m sure He appreciates the qualities of being a good problem-solver, most scriptures give us completely different counsel about how to deal with difficulties: ⁣

“Be PATIENT in afflictions ⁣

“For thou shalt have MANY;⁣

“But endure them,⁣

“For, lo, I am with thee.” D&C 24:8⁣

We are told that we will have afflictions. ⁣

No amount of preparation or knowledge can change that. ⁣

And when those afflictions come?⁣

We are asked to just be patient in them. ⁣

To sit in the miserable. ⁣

To wait without an answer. ⁣

To see no solution in sight. ⁣

That is what we are asked to do. ⁣

That doesn’t sound very awesome. ⁣

Because I don’t like to have a problem, and just wait. ⁣

But the Lord gives us a redeeming promise that should be more than enough to carry us through any dark path we have to endure:

I AM WITH THEE. ⁣

Fear not. ⁣

The Lord is with us. ⁣

Sitting right beside us in the miserable. ⁣

Waiting without an immediate answer, but with tons of quiet encouragement. ⁣

Showing us that waiting in affliction doesn’t mean the end of the world. ⁣

We are going to have a lot of afflictions. ⁣

And sometimes, a whole bunch all at once. (I’m with ya there!)⁣

And we aren’t asked to solve them all by ourselves. ⁣

We are asked to just be patient and to endure. ⁣

And as miserable as waiting during an affliction can sound, when the Lord is with us every step of the way, we can still find those moments of peace, love, and even joy.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Don’t solve my problem?! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve thought this for a long time.

I mean, It’s hard to believe that everyone won’t immediately want to repent after we all die.

There have been a lot of theories as to how exactly things will play out in the next life.

But Jacob reminds us in his sermon that “. . . they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still.” (2 Nephi 9:16)

In other words, circumstances won’t magically change our hearts.⁣

How many times have I fallen for that trap, though?⁣

I’ve thought, “I’ll be better at reading my scriptures once it’s fall break.⁣”

“I’ll be a better ministering sister once I’ve got my life under control.⁣”

“I’ll attend the temple more once my kids are older.⁣”

Now to be clear, there certainly are “seasons of life” where some things will be easier for us than others.

I’m in a ridiculously busy phase of life where I am constantly needed by lots of (mostly little) people.

But I had the spiritual impression recently that maybe I’ve been relying on that crutch a little bit more than I truly need to.

Because when we are always waiting for the proverbial grass to be greener to change our habits…

We miss out on having a mighty change of heart and the sacred personal growth that comes with it.⁣

So what have we been putting off?

What can we tackle today to align our wills even more closely with God’s?⁣

Let’s make some little changes today, and the next day, and the next!

That way, when we meet our Maker, we will present Him with a pure heart that is still ready to change for the better.

“We may not yet be where we hope and wish to be in the future…. In the meantime, we live now, not waiting for life to begin.” – Gerrit W. Gong

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Waiting for the grass to be greener  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

That’s why I’ve always loved math.

And so when I have problems come up in my life, I want to fix them right away.

If I’m not feeling the spirit in my life, then I need to figure out what is hindering me so that I can open myself up to inspiration again.

If I’m having a medical issue, I want to get the diagnosis so that we can treat it appropriately.

If I’m wanting to make a decision, I try to get all the information and make the best decision that I can as soon as possible.

But I’ve noticed something in the scriptures.

The Lord never asks us to solve our afflictions.

Although I’m sure He appreciates the qualities of being a good problem-solver, most scriptures give us completely different counsel about how to deal with difficulties:

“Be PATIENT in afflictions

“For thou shalt have MANY;

“But endure them,

“For, lo, I am with thee.” D&C 24:8

We are told that we will have afflictions.

No amount of preparation or knowledge can change that.

And when those afflictions come?

We are asked to just be patient in them.

To sit in the miserable.

To wait without an answer.

To see no solution in sight.

That is what we are asked to do.

That doesn’t sound very awesome.

Because I don’t like to have a problem, and just wait.

But the Lord gives us a redeeming promise that should be more than enough to carry us through any dark path we have to endure.

I AM WITH THEE.

Fear not.

The Lord is with us.

Sitting right beside us in the miserable.

Waiting without an immediate answer, but with tons of quiet encouragement.

Showing us that waiting in affliction doesn’t mean the end of the world.

We are going to have a lot of afflictions.

And sometimes, a whole bunch all at once. (I’m with ya there!)

And we aren’t asked to solve them all by ourselves.

We are asked to just be patient and to endure.

And as miserable as waiting during an affliction can sound, when the Lord is with us every step of the way, we can still find those moments of peace, love, and even joy.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Patience in afflictions first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.