Stepping Stones

This past few weeks have been a bit rough for me , not Spiritually at all but some what stressful if you will. I received a bit of relief last week when I got word from my attorney and the courts that my custody battle for my daughter is now over and she is officially in my custody, hooray! I have also, as some may know, been having a bit of struggles with my brother, Tom. Despite the fact that he feels he is always correct , no matter the answer he has given, he made it ever difficult to speak with him. I found myself getting to a place where my feelings were not quite leaning the way they should have and there towards the end of a solid week of standing up for what I believe in , I found myself rather punchy in some of my responses. I felt after re-reading some of them that I could have handled them with a little more finesse and showed more kindness instead of being consumed with getting the point across. Either way I have rested at the endeavor. I wrote him an email tonight after receiving an additional four from him yesterday, stating that I no longer wish to engage in trying to answer the ever tiring anti-Mormon questions, I stated that, if they were sincere questions from him to understand what it is I truly believe, I will be happy to answer with the best of my ability but no longer will I answer the anti questions that he is trying to show me where I am wrong at.

I had posted a comment for my blog stating that I will no longer support his blog and have removed it from my site, I feel impressed still to stand with that decision. Not for the sake that I can't get along with members of my family , but more so because I can't promote someone that condemns the very thing that I would die to uphold. He has a very good grasp on the Bible as he sees it and I feel comfortable that he has made some correct choices in his life, but more so than anything , I am grateful to our Father in Heaven for His infinite mercy, that will allow those that don't truly understand an opportunity to decide for themselves and that He bases things on people individual understanding of the Gospel and does not condemn them for their ignorance. (not a nice word but hey if it fits)

Sometimes these things are so hard to deal with, but there is strength to be had in all struggles. I have said before and it is something that I try to live by, adversity can either be a stepping stone or a stumbling block, it is how you perceive the problem that makes it either of the two. I pray that my Brother Tom may have an opened mind and a softened heart, and that he will come to a point in his life where the things that I have shared with him will begin to make sense.