Discouragement

Do you ever wonder why we have to have discouragement in our lives? We all face it day to day, but why? We all have different situations in our lives that lead to it. Can you tell this has been on my mind a lot this week? One of my biggest discouragements is having a body that is capable, but pain that limits me in different ways. The desire to run (for physical activity) yet having the feeling I want to barf from the pain that always resides in the same place, in the middle of my back and up to my neck. My poor legs that just feel like they 100 lb weights in them because of the pain. Granted this is not everyday, just when the pain is at its worse. Luckily this week in the early morning time (during a very frustrating run) I was able to think about this for a minute and realize some of the blessings of discouragement: - Through discouragement we have the ability to realize what we really can accomplish. If we don't keep pushing on, we don't truly realize what we are capable of and what we can do. - Knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father that truly knows and loves me. He knows what I am capable of (when I have no clue). He gives me no more than I can handle. I know he is truly aware of me and the struggles that we all have. -Perspective and what is truly important. In our life, like everyone elses, we have tons of things going on. I have the expectations that it all has to get taken care of. In a blessing Nelson recently gave me it talked about focusing on things that truly matter most. Sometimes I need those reminders to help me focus on my little ones and not worry about the constant mess that is always being created. Even though at times it is not fun experiencing discouragement I know there is a reason and it is all for our good!