Endurance

*Just some thoughts today*

"A reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught...There can and will be plenty of difficulties in life. Nevertheless, the soul that comes unto Christ, who knows His voice and strives to do as He did, finds a strength, 'beyond his own.' The Savior reminds us that He has 'graven us upon the palms of His hands.' Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Cricifixion and Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, 'Come unto me,' He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way."
-Jeffrey R. Holland

I believe the merciful nature of God and the ability to endure have quite a bit to do with each other.  

One definition of endure is to suffer without yielding or to suffer patiently. Without this mercy could suffering really allow patience. I don't believe so. It is only through the mercy of God that we really can access the ability to endure. 

It also seems to me that it is in human nature that we look inwardly and sometimes forget to look outwardly; to look to others. I also believe it is our human nature to forget we all suffer and it's not easy for anyone to suffer patiently. "The grass isn't always greener on the other side." We all experience different struggles but to each of us they are struggles and they are real. When we can learn to look outwardly even in our own journey, during the struggles, we gain a bit of an idea of the merciful nature of God. However, God's mercy is a perfect mercy and ours will always be flawed in this lifetime. It can never be perfect as we haven't experienced the struggles of others as both our Father and our Savior have endured.

Through the perfect mercy of our Savior we find the ability to endure and to love, or to overcome rage, anger, hurt, jealousy, envy, hate, and more of what we all experience. After this is when we find ourselves starting to look outwardly, focusing on others more instead of ourselves and learning what mercy really consists of.

This isn't easy but do we learn anything when everything comes easy?