Genesis 3:17 -- On Curses and Hardships

"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."

Genesis 3:17

One of the speakers at our Stake Conference mentioned this scripture to me, and it made me think about the phrase here "for thy sake."  What if this curse wasn't something that was a bad thing, but something that God was doing for Adam's benefit?  

Maybe, like so many things in life, it was both something that felt bad, but also something that taught him a lot.  It is a good reminder for all of us that hardships are placed in life for a reason... Adam and Eve chose the path of hardship because they realized that was the only way to learn and grow and eventually find eternal joy, and even though many times we don't actively choose it, our hardships are the same... they are the way that we change.  Without obstacles, we would coast through life and have no reason to make big changes in our lives.  We'd stagnate.  It's the tough things that push us to grow and improve.

Today, even in the midst of our trials, let's remember that God allows bad things to happen *for* us, and that he will eventually lead us to our happy ending and wipe away all tears from our eyes (Revelation 21:4).  All the trials will just be past memories, but we'll be our best selves because we chose to face the hardships, kept the faith, and learned to love.