The Atonement is an amazing gift we have all been given. It is amazing to me how much we all take this gift for granted in this life. We can use it daily, hourly, every minute of our lives.
There are times in our lives where we feel sad, lonely and lost. It is in those moments we must do our very best to remember our Saviors love for us. I know he loves us, and he knows our pains on a very personal level. He is never gone from us. And though sometimes we distance ourselves from him, he is always there waiting for us to return to him. There are times in all our lives where it would be so nice to have our problems, heartaches and trials just magically vanish. It is in those moments we need to allow him into our souls to buoy us up and comfort us, and to help us find the path that is best for us. I know he is there. I know from personal experience. Jesus Christ is the Living Water. And though we may not always realize it, we thirst for his love, every single one of us. The atonement is the way to satisfy that thirst.
I will never forget the feeling I had after I went back to church with a true repentant heart. I emphasize TRUE repentant heart, because there were times I thought I was sorry, but I don't know that I truly was. Imagine with me for a moment. Imagine you are in a desert. You have been traveling for many days, you are thirsty and you are broken and you are feeling defeat, despair, loneliness and hopelessness. And you finally get to that tall cold glass of refreshing water. You feel it go down your throat, and coat your stomach with relief. That is what true repentance feels like. You step through the doors and allow your heart to begin to heal through the atonement of Christ, and suddenly your filling your thirst. It as if you can finally take a breath, and feel relief from your troubles. When I stepped through the doors of the church, truly repentant, it was like a breath of fresh air, like I was taking a drink after desperate thirst. I was finally healing.
We cannot know what the future holds, what trials we will face. But we can know that our burdens can be made light, and we can have comfort in our Savior. I know my Savior lives and loves us. He is the light and the way. Letting go of our fears and anxiety can be so very hard and seem overwhelming, but it is possible through our beloved Savior. Trust in him, trust in yourself. Have faith and know that our Savior wants us to be happy. We deserve great things in this life, we just need to believe that and have faith. Our Savior wants to forgive. All we need do, is ask. And know that he is always there.
