Pieces

 

Our dryer is limping a bit on its last leg.  

But we continue to replace the element and coax a few more months out of it.

Consequently, we are using our drying rack more often.  And when the dryer was unavailable for a few days, Ella was less than impressed with the wired together rack that slanted just enough that with the wrong move it would deftly deposit the entire rack of clothes into a pile on the ground.

So I ordered a new one.

Only when it arrived, no two components had been put together.  It brought back many memories of the Sauder furniture years..... except the diagram was at least in English! 

I was kind of annoyed.  

The jumble of parts looked nothing like the picture of the product I had ordered.  

But I spent the next few hours assembling the rack with some occasional helpful clarification from George. I dropped screws and washers and had to move the loveseat to find them.  I put some pieces together wrong and had to go back and fix it.  But we now have a very sturdy and serviceable laundry rack.

I was thinking about how often our prayers are like that.  We pray for a specific end result but then get frustrated when the Lord instead sends the pieces and allows us to learn and grow as we build the answers with His help.

Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf reminded, "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."

The Lord sees beyond our view.  He knows what we were created to become.  

President Nelson further added, "We should pray in accord with the will of our Heavenly Father.  He wants to test us, to strengthen us, and to help us achieve our full potential. "

As we read in D&C 122:7,  “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”  

Even if it comes in lots of pieces.