Patience and a GPS

"Now, brothers and sisters, we have available to us a tool even more remarkable than the best GPS...It is through the promptings of the Holy Ghost that we can be brought safely back onto the right path, and it is the atoning sacrifice of the Savior that can return us home."

-M. Russell Ballard

I'm taking an institute class where we read general conference talks from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. This past week, we read two talks by President Uchtdorf. One of them was Continue in Patience. In that talk he said, "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can’t see the Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness."

In our institute class, our teacher has stop and reflect after each talk. He has us write what the message was saying and how are we supposed to apply it to our own lives now.

This talk made me think of an experience that I had last month. I had taken Nate home to meet my family. I took him to do some of the touristy things in the Bay Area. Even though I lived in there most of my life, I managed to avoid driving into San Francisco. Someone else always drove or we took BART. I knew that I would have to be driving, so I brought my GPS with me to help get around. To get to and from the city you have to switch several freeways, and the GPS would tell me when I needed to exit.

One afternoon, Nate and I went to the beach. As we headed back, we hit some heavy weekend traffic. My GPS sensed that there was traffic and told me to take a certain exit. Having only driven from the city once, I wasn't entirely familiar with the freeway system, so I decided to trust my GPS and exit. It took me to Macarthur Street exit. Nate and I soon found ourselves in a not so pleasant area of inter-city Oakland. We passed houses and stores with windows that were boarded up or covered with bars. I soon became scared and upset with my GPS for leading me into what appeared to be unsafe area. I wanted to get back onto the freeway as soon possible and just get home. However, the GPS continued to take us on a windy detour. Nate tried to joke around and that was making me even more agitated. Once I realized that he was simply trying to lighten the mood, I appreciated it.

Eventually, we began to driving through streets lined with buildings that had been kept in better condition. My shoulders began to relax a bit more and once again, we were back on the freeway and made our way home.

I found that I had to trust my GPS to get me back home. The satellites that helped guide the GPS were able to take in the bigger picture and as long as nothing malfunctioned, I would get back home. How often are we headed down a path in our lives heading towards a goal and we are taken down another? The road that we are traveling appears daunting and a bit unnerving. Sometimes, we may not understand why we asked to take a different road, especially when the road that we were on was comfortable and familiar. President Utchdorf said "eventually I learned that God’s promises are not always fulfilled as quickly as or in the way we might hope; they come according to His timing and in His ways... Looking back, I know for sure that the promises of the Lord, if perhaps not always swift, are always certain." I learned this past week that patience isn't just waiting and enduring, but also trusting and moving forward as best you can.