To Dream the Impossible Dream!

So this is the story of Zacharias, a priest married to the lovely Elisabeth (found in Luke chapter 1). Both are getting pretty up there in age, with no kids, and Elisabeth has been told she's barren. So they are pretty sure no kids will be coming into the picture, but they decide to ask the Lord for some help anyway.
While praying in the temple, Zacharias is visited by the angel Gabriel, who tells him, 

"Fear not,  (there it is again!) Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:13-17).

Zacharius immediately responds with, "So...my wife's pretty old. And so am I. How am I going to know if any of this is actually true?" The angel then replies that he will be stricken dumb until his son, John will be born, because of his unbelief. Sounds kind of harsh, doesn't it? It's not like he did anything wrong- he just had a moment of weakness. It even says earlier in the chapter that he and his wife both had a strong testimonies of the gospel, were very active in their covenant keeping, and "walked blameless before God." But Zacharias did not have a full understanding of the why behind all that he did. 

He didn't understand the importance of faith- both in regards to the miracle of his son and of the Messiah's role in his life. In order for Zacharius's faith in Christ to grow, Heavenly Father allowed him to experience a brief period of suffering, unable to speak to anyone at all. Once John was born, Zacharias immediately receives the ability to talk again, and starts testifying of John and Christ right away! He now knows 100% that God's promises will be fulfilled- and because of his recently strengthened testimony, he is able to bring others more fully unto God and to Christ. Isn't it amazing how God can turn something so seemingly negative into a positive learning experience?

I was reminded of Jairus's story from earlier in the week- and thought about how both these men had quite an influence on others in their community, one being  priest, the other the leader of a congregation. Both already had testimonies of the gospel, and probably had already been tried multiple times throughout their lives, but God did not want them to stop growing where they were- he wanted them both to have a deeper understanding of the gospel of Christ so that they could influence others for the better.  They both may have read the scriptures time and time again, but may not have fully understood the true meaning behind them. Had Zacharis recalled the story of Abraham and Saria having a child in their old age, he may have been able to better believe the possibility of his own wife being able to have a son (plus being promised something like that from an angel is a pretty good indicator it'll come true), and may have been able to understand the important role John would play in preparing the way for Christ. 

Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling, but what i'm trying to say is sometimes God allows us to struggle so that we can better understand gospel truths in our own lives. As we look for opportunities to learn from specific trials, we can end up bearing testimony of God and Christ that can change the lives of others around us, in ways that wouldn't have otherwise been possible had our faith not been tested. Some trials will be far more intense than others, but I know there is something to be learned from each one of them. I definitely know I need to be better at putting my faith into practice instead of just freaking out when things get harder than what I want them to be. But I know it'll all work out in the end. It always does :) As we put forth our best effort to keep our covenants, ask questions, and seek the answers in the scriptures, our personal understanding will increase and we can be instruments in God's hands to bring others unto Christ 10000 x better than we ever could on our own.

 I know that Heavenly Father is so proud of all the hard work you are putting into school, your calling, family, and friends- He is there to help you grow along the way, "For with God, nothing shall be impossible" (37)

I love you!

Emily