While on a family road trip this summer we stopped at a beautiful lake that we found while driving. This lake wasn’t just some ordinary lake, it was special! We hit the jack pot! Not only did it happen to be the most beautiful day, perfectly set in the 70’s, it had a lakeside basketball court, and an inflatable amusement park! The kids played for hours, finishing with grateful hearts and starving tummies. We jumped in the car, and headed to our destination again, in search of a restaurant that could offer the satisfaction of Five Guys. Two hours later, after scoping out several small towns, we still had a van full of starving children. Everyone was hungry and their grateful hearts were quickly turning to frustration. “Why does everything take so long to get there?” The little ones cried from the back of the Sprinter! Luke, chuckled to himself, and then said, “Not too many years ago everyone had to walk or take a buggy to go anywhere. It was nearly impossible to scan the countryside for a favorite restaurant. Everyone stayed close to home because of travel difficulties! No one could travel across the country, on paved highways, going 70 mph, and we still complain. It wouldn’t really matter how fast we are able to create travel, we will still complain. If we could teleport to Japan, but it took 20 minutes, we would be frustrated that we couldn’t get there in 5 minutes.” 

I was actually sleeping when this conversation took place, but I immediately woke up and jotted it down because this is all so true. We live in a world of negativity and instant gratification. I’m starting to believe the two come hand in hand. Instant gratification dulls our ability to be patient and long-suffering. Without patience we find ourselves in a negative cycle, wanting all our hearts desires immediately. This has never been the way that eternal principles work. Eternity isn’t built upon the sands of instant. They are built on the rocks of steadfast, enduring, and hard work. It is through the satisfaction of work that we find ourselves filled with purpose and joy. 

“Waiting can be hard. Children know it, and so do adults. We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don’t like to wait. Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them.

Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Peace and Joy are divine attributes, ones that our hearts and minds know too well, but the veil has hidden for a time. It is part of who we are, part of our spiritual DNA. Now we just have to take the time to figure out who we are and what our purpose is here on earth so that we can experience that divine joy while on earth. Anything eternal is going to come from eternal tutoring which is found in the scriptures, on our knees in open communication with Heavenly Father, through genuine service, and by obeying the commandments. As we do these things on a consistent daily basis, we will find that our struggles will flee, and peace will abound. There is no immediate substitute–it can’t be bought at the mall, or found on a random internet search. True lasting peace and happiness comes from God, and is found along the path to the tree of life. 

“We were not placed on this earth to walk alone. What an amazing source of power, of strength, and of comfort is available to each of us. He who knows us better than we know ourselves, He who sees the larger picture and who knows the end from the beginning, has assured us that He will be there for us to provide help if we but ask. We have the promise: “Pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.”-Thomas S. Monson

-Sherri Jorgensen