Bugs on the windshield

My dad called me this morning (sometimes I wonder if he really does call to see if I'm awake... even so, I appreciate it) and said, "Sorry, I was supposed to call you back yesterday!"

He had to talk to the insurance guys, I went to class... we got busy. It was fine. He started to tell me how the insurance bit went. My mom and sister were in a pretty crazy accident on Saturday, (see her blog for that story), and it's been nothing but a hassle. That's why I'd called him the day before, I was freaking out. After mom's text on Saturday ("In a wreck. Totaled the van. Will update." Really?! What am I supposed to do then? Just calmly continue going about my day?!) and then no one answering my phone calls til Monday, I felt justified in flipping out just a little bit. Dad and I talked about it for a while, about why I freaked out, and I told him that I think I was scared so badly because I wasn't there dealing with the trauma with my fam. I haven't really done that before.
We talked about how our family could take stuff like this. It was more obvious to me that our family gets dealt a lot, and a lot of the time. The more we've proved we can handle, the more that's thrown at us. It's amazing to me how constant that stream is. I told my Dad that I hadn't realized how crazy that was when I was at home. That just seemed like our lives, that was normal, right? Hearing about it from the outside is a little bit harder.
Dad made the analogy of the bugs on the windshield when we drive up to Orlando. It's a three or so hour drive to get to the temple from our house, and every time we go, our windshield is covered in bugs. Three hours is not even that long of a trip, but somehow, you'd think we'd been driving for weeks with the number of splattered insects that end up on the windshield. But we don't have to pull over every time a bug hits our windshield. That's how life goes. We're trying to get back home, and our windshields get dirty. But we don't have to pull over and stop every time a bug hits us. We just need to make sure our wiper fluid stays full. Sometimes we do have to pull into a gas station and use one of their squeegees to be able to see. But we can't get through this life without help either. Somedays it may seem easier to abandon the car entirely and do something else, but we have to choose to keep going. Whether bugs and wipers represent adversity and trials or sin and the Atonement and others in our lives, respectively, I loved how simple it made this journey of ours. It's not easy, but it isn't hard to understand.

I got an email from my friend who just left the MTC. His thoughts have been on the same idea.

"This week, as I was contemplating the concept of keeping the commandments, I was bantering back and forth in mind why such is needed. The one side of the argument was complaining why I can’t have what I want. Why is it that we have to submit our wills to God, Church, etc.? I thought it highly unfair, that we can’t just do what we want, when we want it, and how we want it. Then, with just as much clarity as a DeBeers diamond, I recalled the true purpose of life. Life is a test. No ifs, ands, or buts. Our purpose in life is simply to see whether or not we will submit our wants and desires to Deity. As Jeffrey R. Holland put it, “There is no sign of convenience in our Christian creed.” And so I resigned myself again to obey."
(I'm still trying to cite Elder Holland's quote. I can't find it anywhere. I searched all of the articles Jeremy referenced, and I can't find it anywhere. Help?)

I'm so appreciative of the reminder to keep driving, regardless of bugs on my windshield. Even if I didn't have to be in the wreck to catch the reminder.