Practicing Virtues

I recently had an experience that required me to forgive someone.  

Finding this to be very difficult, I called one of my friends in recovery who taught me a new and very important concept. 

She told me to look at it as an opportunity to practice forgiveness. Huh? Practice forgiveness? Hmmm. After a brief moment of mental consumption, the Spirit bore witness of the truth in her words. So that's exactly what I did; I practiced forgiveness. It took a few days to really let it go, but the healing and peace eventually came, and much sooner than it would have otherwise, I might add. 

But did the learning curve end there? No. It occurred to me that forgiveness is not the only virtue to which I can apply this process. What about other virtues, such as patience, humility, surrender, honesty, trust and charity? All of a sudden the opportunity to practice forgiveness this one time turned into the opportunity to practice refining myself in all aspects of working toward God. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn tools that will help me in one situation and if I actually use those tools then as a reward I am in turn taught how to use them universally in many other situations. It's like being given a pen to write with and then learning it can also be used to tie up my hair, unlock doors and scratch my back!

I'm grateful also for the opportunity to look at obstacles with gratitude. It's been difficult for so long to be grateful for my trials; to not feel sorry for myself and not throw Spiritual temper tantrums.  Now I look at each challenge as an opportunity to practice my virtues and to ultimately rely on my Savior to strengthen and perfect them.  It's not easy for sure, but that's why it's called practice!