Sometimes when the furnace goes bust, the water heater explodes, and you’ve stubbed your toe a dozen times since waking, you may think to yourself, “Murphy’s Law is in full force today!” it might be not only healthy, but wise to step back and look at life in the eternal perspective.
I think it’s safe to say that I have led a somewhat chaotic life, which is probably why I crave peace and quiet so much. When life comes crushing down on me I may stutter, but I am not crushed. Oh yes, I weep, I fear, I worry – but I continue onward. Mother Osmond (the matriarch of the famous Osmond clan) used to say, “This too shall pass.” I’ve heard her children repeat it multiple times, and I now find myself repeating it, and believing it, as well.
What helps me in times of pressure, stress and crisis? Literally, I see things in the eternal perspective. I passed my test in the first estate, premortality. I am determined to pass the test in my second estate, mortality. Although astronomical medical debt, health problems in our little family and my 42-year-old body not responding the way it should worry me, I merely deal with them, do what I can and understand that: “Seeing life from an eternal perspective helps us focus our limited mortal energies on the things that matter most. ” Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, May 1998, 14
There are times when this perspective is all that keeps me moving forward. We have to live in this world. We have to function in this world – but we do not have to be conquered by this world.
So when the children are running around screaming at the top of their lungs with looks of maniacal glee in their eyes, the dog is chasing after them jumping about and barking madly, the phone is ringing incessantly and you’re holding the baby whose sweet smell has suddenly been overcome by a plethora of noxious odors, remember: This too shall pass.