Out of their bitter struggles they are able to find the sweetness

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Afternoon Session of the October 2003 Conference.

I've been thinking about humility this week. Sam and I were talking to Abe about it a little bit during his weekly call, just remembering times we've felt so frustrated or infuriated about something that's so wrong—and we know it's unfair and wrong—and we can't do anything about it and it just feels so maddening! I don't know if it's worse when that feeling of helplessness comes in interactions with bureaucracy and clearly mortal concerns—where there is no mandate for anything to ever change—or if it's worse when it is in a spiritual sphere where you know things definitely should be better! Both situations are bad. And hard. And frustrating.

I don't actually have any solutions or advice. I'm not very good at remembering Jesus Christ like I should in that kind of circumstance. But I liked what Bishop Richard C. Edgley said about people that navigate unfairness and frustration with humility:

These are the many members I see, admire, and am grateful for. They are not seeking position, prominence, or fame, but each is earning a place in our Father’s kingdom by taking care of the business of everyday living. They are consistently doing the unnoticed, the unspectacular, but humbly and righteously doing the important. Challenges they have, but out of their bitter struggles they are able to find the sweetness that is so often the silent companion to adversity. This picture is duplicated hundreds of times in thousands of wards throughout the world.

…

Many of us live or work in an environment where humility is often misunderstood and considered a weakness. Not many corporations or institutions include humility as a value statement or a desired characteristic of their management. Yet as we learn about the workings of God, the power of a humble and submissive spirit becomes apparent. In the kingdom of God, greatness begins with humility and submissiveness. These companion virtues are the first critical steps to opening the doors to the blessings of God and the power of the priesthood. It matters not who we are or how lofty our credentials appear. Humility and submissiveness to the Lord, coupled with a grateful heart, are our strength and our hope.

Abe seems to find himself running up against challenging and infuriating situations a lot these days. I can tell it's wearing on him, and I don't blame him. I've felt a little worn through with that stuff myself lately. But I do read words like these from Bishop Edgley and feel the truth of them. I still don't know how to have a "grateful heart" in the face of incompetence and stupidity! I don't know how to have a humble and submissive spirit when I feel so completely entitled to my anger at the injustice of it all! But if it was obvious, we wouldn't need God to tell us about it. I sense deep down that "taking care of the business of everyday living," "consistently doing the unnoticed and the unspectacular"—and somehow finding a humble, submissive, grateful heart through it all—is the key to (paradoxically!) gaining the power and strength that we so desperately need from God. 

I hope I will someday learn to display those characteristics especially at these times when it seems most impossible to do!