The Hope of God's Light

This week I have been reflecting a lot on the beautiful plan God has for us, and it has been confirmed to me over and over again that we have a Heavenly Father who knows, and loves us, perfectly, completely, and infinitely. In fact His love was so great He had the capacity to send us His only begotten Son as a means of us one day returning to Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He is aware of us, and I know with all the certainly of my heart He is in the tiny as well as the great details of our lives. His whole purpose is to bring to pass our "immortality and eternal life." His greatest desire is our happiness. He longs for us to return home to Him. 

We chose to come to this earth knowing of the struggles, and challenges we would accept when we followed His plan, yet we trusted in our Father that somehow it would all work out. We leapt for joy when the Father created this beautiful place for us to dwell, and when He provided a Savior, an older Brother, a Guide, a Friend, so that we did not need to be on this journey alone. In John, The Savior said, "And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Everyday we are free to make choices that either draw us closer to the Savior or further away. We stumble, we fall, we slip off the path, and sometimes struggle to make our way back. We are imperfect mortals. Yet the Savior is not. He is perfect and His Atonement (His sacrifice) is perfect.  The Savior's Atonement is there whether you feel you deserve it or not. It will always be there. 

The Atonement however does not remove our trials. The path is narrow, and straight, yet there is nothing that says it will be without bumps or climbs. The beauty of the message though is that we have a Savior who reaches out His precious arms of mercy and walks with us, every painful, and every joyful step of the way. The Lord once said to the Prohet Joseph Smith, "Peace be unto thy soul. Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high." God's peace is not the world's peace. It is perfect and lasting. It is not temporary, but eternal. It the source of light and happiness in this life when adversity enters our path. "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." 

Al Fox once said, "Hard times will be there, but so will Christ." Never lose sight of His love. I promise you that when you "seek you shall find." Seek out His love. His comfort will always be there, because He will always be there. His hands torn and scared are reaching out for you this very moment, this very day, and always.  

Alma 26:35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power,all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation