"Or else I die...but until I do..."

Gen. 30: 1-2, 6-8, 14-15, 22, 25
1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel aenvied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in aGod’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
• • •
6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son:

As I read this today, I became an identifying reader. The trial of desiring to be a righteous mother goes right along with Elder Oaks talk, "Good, Better, Best." I would even say it goes along with the BEST goals. I wonder if she ever thought, "What did I do so wrong that God is judging me by not giving me this righteous desire. How come everyone else gets what I desperately pray for?" Hmmm...Rachel, I wish I knew. However, when I find myself in this pit of destruction, I find comfort in these words:

JOB CHAPTER 27: 5-6
5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

The idea of ENDURING is sometimes a hard lesson to learn. I have to be taught this over and over again, however, enduring does not mean making it the first time, it just means we keep going.

"Sometimes we spend so much time trying to determine what we did wrong in the past to deserve the unpleasant happenings of the moment that we fail to resolve the challenges of the present.....Day by day we can make the effort to gain the power to last and to suffer without yielding." --Marvin J. Ashton