Last summer when we were in the middle of the pandemic, and it felt so discouraging for the borders to be closed and for all of the lockdowns and restrictions, I kept wondering how long the pandemic was going to last. I wished that I could ask President Nelson when it was going to end. I decided he would tell me that I can get the answer the same way he could - Ask God. Learn to Hear Him.
I decided to start reading conference talks to find peace. The first talk of the April General Conference was by Elder Russell M. Ballard. He said, "As we listen to the Spirit during this 200th anniversary celebration this weekend, consider what offering you will present to the Lord in righteousness in the coming days. Be courageous - share it with someone you trust, and most important, take time to do it!
I decided I was going to fast every Sunday for a couple months, and so I did. I fasted for peace in my heart, for the pandemic to end, for borders to open, and mostly for the temple to reopen so Hanna could go through before she left on her mission.
My fasting and prayers were answered as I felt strengthened, and I was also most grateful when they announced that the Cardston Temple was going to Phase 2 on August 24. Hanna was able to go to the temple before she left to fly to Toronto. She had already started MTC online, so we were so thankful she could go before she left.
Here we are 1 year and 2 weeks into the pandemic, and it is still going strong. We can have no indoor gatherings, no sports or any events, church can happen at 15% capacity, restaurants and stores have limited capacity (except Walmart and Costco - there doesn't seem to be any rules there). It seems like there is good news, bad news, good news, bad news. Vaccines are starting to come out, and the numbers were going down in Alberta. Now they are going back up.
We just keep praying that some day the pandemic will end.
