Faith

We all need to rely on the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ everyday, especially when hard things happen. I spoke about that in another article, so I will let you revisit that post.
But what I want to share with you today is the reason WHY.

Of course you all know that Alyssa is in India. What most of you probably don't know is that there was a terrible train accident near Hyderbad. Power was out there for thousands at the same time. The significance of this is that Alyssa and her friends at HELP were planning a visit to Taj Mahal. So the way this worked out is that I was at my computer when I received a post from Steven. We didn't know where Alyssa was for sure, and as we messaged back-and-forth I realized that we really knew few details. Steven hadn't heard from her in a while, and I think they normally chat almost daily, so I was getting concerned.

Fear is the opposite of faith. If you have faith, you can handle difficulties.

Our hope in Jesus Christ is real. He will help us through our struggles. He can make all the difference.

So back to my story, I am sitting at my computer, and I get an IM from Steven. "When did Alyssa travel to Taj Mahal? Did she fly or take the train?" He continues by asking when she was leaving, and when we last heard from her. So at this point, I called him up and asked him what's going on. He then sent me the link about the tragic train incident near Hyderbad where a fire took 47 people's lives and injured dozens of others. So I called Brady down at HELP International to confirm that everyone at HELP International was ok and in particular Alyssa. The young woman on the phone said Brady was in a staff meeting and would call me back. Of course, I didn't want to sound unduly alarmed, so I said that would be fine. But when I hung up, my mind got to rehashing "Why are they having staff meeting, why hasn't Brady call me back, and why haven't we heard from Alyssa?" Well needless to say, I was worried. Brady called me back and made a special call to India just to make sure. Everyone was fine and accounted for. In fact, they were all sleeping at that very moment. Brady apologized that I even had to be concerned.

In this life, there will be hardship, but through the gospel of Jesus Christ we can have hope that we will overcome all the obstacles that face us in life and that all things will work together for the good of them that love and serve the Lord.

With Elder Russell M. Nelson, I express my gratitude that the gospel of Jesus Christ allows me that kind of strength in these tumultuous times.

It all comes down to having faith.