Today after church I came home and watched a movie called the Legacy, which is one of my favorite churchy-movies. If you've never seen it, it's one of those movies about the Mormon pioneers heading west in the mid 1800's. 

Anyways, I was reminded of how difficult it must have been to be one of those people who risked everything to walk hundreds of miles in extreme weather. Many did it while they were sick or pregnant or trying to take care of their families. There were several who didn't survive the journey and had to be laid to rest along the trail. 

I really admire those who did that, and I'll forever be indebted to my ancestors who came all that way. 

It is a really remarkable thing, what they did, and anybody can learn a lesson or two from their experiences, even if their lives haven't been directly affected by their actions.

Like stories of peoples lives often do, It got me thinking. 

Life sometimes is so hard. It just is. 

Everyone is on their own journey, and many times it is easy to want to just stop.

But like those brave pioneers, our progress will only continue if we keep going. 

When your life feels difficult, boring, unimportant, hectic, stressful, trying or lonely, get on your knees, ask for the help of your dear Father in Heaven, and then keep going. 

Endurance is the one factor that keeps many people from reaching their destination. 

My mind goes to this simple story that I found a few years ago...

Darby’s uncle had gold fever, so he staked his claim and started digging.  After a lot of hard work, the uncle found a vein of ore, so he covered up his find and returned home to raise the money for the machinery that he would need to bring the ore to the surface.

They raised the money and Darby travelled with his uncle back to the site to make their fortune.

Things started well and before long, they had enough to clear their debts.  They were excited, everything from here on would be profit and things were looking good.

Then the supply of gold stopped.  The vein of ore had disappeared.They kept on digging and digging and digging, but found nothing day after day.

After a while, they quit in frustration and sold their machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars.After they went home in disappointment, the astute junk man called in a mining engineer who checked the mine and calculated that there was a vein of gold just three feet from where Darby and his uncle had stopped digging.The junk man went on to make millions from the mine.Darby returned home, paid back everyone who had lent him money and was determined to learn from his mistake in giving up too soon. He learned the lesson that you need to persevere through difficulties and stay focused if you are to become successful.

Whenever you feel like giving up, remember that you may be just three feet from gold. Whether it be walking across the country, trying to remain positive, living with some sort of affliction, or simply encountering your specific daily trials, remember that sometimes it is important to just keep going. 

Just a thought :)

Hope you're all havin a sweet Sunday.

xo