Life lessons to be treasured

I love how JUST READING can eventually become a necessity each day to drink from and gain strength in. I NOW LOVE READING and was taught as a child to read daily from the scriptures and like many, in the beginning, read not understanding a lot but was obedient in this and eventually my knowing how much I fell short in understanding the great works caught up to me and I began to hunger for knowledge in a way that my very cry regularly reaches heaven to ask for continuing knowledge as I am ready. I deeply FEEL the blessing from this.

This morning studying and learning amongst many things I felt a deep gratitude for Joseph's righteousness and example. Here we have a good young man who loved his father and was hated by his brothers, sold by them, became a slave, was thrown into prison for not falling into temptation and it goes on to say "The Lord was with him". This is what I call faith.

Elder Hartman Rector Jr. explained: "The ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances.
PEOPLE LIKE THIS CONNOT BE DEFEATED"

I felt connected to Joseph as I pondered my own experiences that relate in someways and I can't help but recall something that rests in the back of my mind... Steve Hardison told me once "When you follow your heart, everyone will eventually be ok with it".
The only source that is solid is trusting in something far greater than we as mortals can measure up to alone and it does give us strength and can( if we allow) pull us through all things if we just open up to it as Joseph, like many have been an example of, and in the end all just has a way of working out!

Just a thought...