A Slice of Cake and a "Mean daddy"

In 1 Nephi Chapter 17 verse 1, Nephi write, "we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness." In the very next verse he writes, "so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us." But what exactly is a blessing? 

As the church was growing in Kirtland, the Lord revealed that "[He] delights to bless with the greatest of all blessings" (D&C41:1). From this it can be inferred that a blessing is that which the Lord "delights" to give unto us. However, the things that He delights in may not always give us immediate pleasure or make our lives easier.

Here is an example that I think illustrates how Nephi could praise the Lord's blessings at the very time when his family was suffering from many afflictions. Imagine a young child who sees a delicious cake sitting on the kitchen counter. This child asks his father for a slice and is given a piece of the cake. The childis delighted and gobbles up the cake, not leaving so much as a crumb on his plate, then asks his father for another piece. The wise father tells the child that he cannot have any more cake for that day. At this point the child spontaneously breaks into tears and calls his father a "mean daddy" because of this affliction to him, not realizing that another piece of cake may make him sick. The father  stays firm in his decision that the child can only have one piece of cake. That night the child does not get sick, but does not associate this with his father's decision and is thus still upset that his father would not let him have a second piece.

Now take a step back and put this in the context of Nephi's family (and indeed in our own personal lives). Nephi's family has been wandering in the wilderness for a long period of time now, probably several years. Their father Lehi, through the guidance of their Heavenly Father has instructed them that they must continue to wander in the wilderness. As with the child in my analogy they kick and scream the whole way, never associating their father's decision to leave with the safety that they would have forfeited had they stayed in Jerusalem. 

In short, the Lord deligthed in the trials of Lehi and his family, not because He is a "mean daddy," but because he can separate the things which provide us with instant gratification, pleasure and general ease of living from those that will provide us with long-term happiness. He delights in the latter.