I didnt know

 

"Train to all terminals will be arriving in 2 minutes."

A variety of passengers shuffled into line near the double glass doors as the snow fell outside the window.  One man in a business suit glanced at his watch and paced back and forth, obviously in a hurry.

As the train slowed to a stop, the doors remained closed and the electronic sign flashed "train not available for service". 

The gentleman, well that's probably not the right word based on the language of his displeasure, began shouting at an airport employee standing nearby.  

"That's ridiculous! Why would they have that train just sitting there.?  What a waste of time and money!" (Feel free to liberally sprinkle in your chosen profanities- most were used.)

"Well sir, that a snow train."

"A snow train? What #,*^!! is a snow train?"

I was impressed with his calm demeanor as the employee firmly explained, "The temperature has been dropping and the snow has started.  The snow train is the one that deices the tracks and makes it safe for the remaining trains."

An embarrassed look crept on to the yeller's face.  By now he had a whole crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the commotion. 

"I didn't know", he half mumbled.

"No, you didn't."  

By now the next train had arrived and we all crammed into tight quarters before heading off to our various destinations.  

But I thought about how often we don't see the purpose in the delays, the disappointments, or the frustrations of our own "snow trains".  

We are quick to complain, argue and demand answers...when perhaps sometimes, the tracks are being deiced.

I wonder how many times we may end up saying "...but I didn't know" when we see things from a clear view down the road.

Elder James B Martino explained, "Our Heavenly Father, who loves us completely and perfectly, permits us to have experiences that will allow us to develop the traits and attributes we need to become more and more Christlike. Our trials come in many forms, but each will allow us to become more like the Savior as we learn to recognize the good that comes from each experience. As we understand this doctrine, we gain greater assurance of our Father’s love. We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience.  Now, I realize that it is much easier to look back when a trial is over and see what we have learned from our experience, but the challenge is to gain that eternal perspective while we are going through our tests. To some, our trials may not seem great, but to each of us who are passing through these experiences, the trials are real and require us to humble ourselves before God and learn from Him."

Paul also taught this principal in Romans 8 where we read, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Just because we don't yet see the purpose and the good doesn't mean it isn't happening.