First World Problems - Guest Post

Lately I've been listening a lot to the radio show The Nightside
Project. One of their regular features involves listeners texting in
their first world problems - stuff like "There isn't room in my garage
for both my boat and my RV", "I hate it when my monster truck gets a
spot of mud on it", "The remote control is sitting on top of the TV",
or "There was too much sauce on my hamburger and it spilled out onto
my shirt". The fun of First World Problems is that we realize that
these things we complain about are testaments in themselves about how
lucky we have it. Just the opportunity to suffer such annoyances is a
blessing.

Because we are aware that we're lucky to have the things and
opportunities we do, sometimes people end complaints about their
trials with something along the lines of, "I know I am so blessed and
there are so many people out there who have it much worse off then
me." Like because other people are suffering with things they haven't
experienced, their own sufferings are not worth mentioning. Other
times people from the outside compare two different people with a
similar trial, but one person seems to have it to a greater extent.

In the October 1980 General Conference, Boyd K. Packer said, "Some are
tested by poor health, some by a body that is deformed or homely.
Others are tested by handsome and healthy bodies; some by the passion
of youth; others by the erosions of old age. Some suffer
disappointment in marriage, family problems; others live in poverty
and obscurity. Some (perhaps this is the hardest test) find ease and
luxury. All are part of the test. And there is more equality in this
testing than sometimes we suspect."

And seriously? Even what seem like the simplest comparisons can get
pretty complicated. Just think of the smallest trial you can. Now
imagine that comes right after a month of one thing after another. Is
it easier to get through because you've grown through your other
experiences or is it the straw that breaks your camel's back? And
imagine two women with developmentally disabled children. Maybe one is
six months behind her peers in two areas and the other is two years
behind in a wide range of areas. But if the second woman has a strong
support system of friends and extended family and the first has
recently moved and her husband refuses to believe there is a problem,
who has it harder? And whose insurance provides better coverage for
therapists?

There is no point in comparing trials because, for one thing, we
can't. We don't know enough.We are all unique and even if we were
somehow to have the same exact trials, those trials would affect us
each differently. But we can be confident that Heavenly Father is
going to give us the trials we need to grow and he is going to make
available the help we need to get through them. And in the end, it
will all even out.

This post was written by the lovely Marissa, who I've known for a few years now and kindly consented to  be a guest blogger. Isn't she fabulous?