Hi Friends!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to bear my testimony about the Savior's atonement. Crazily enough, that's what experience #5 in Faith required.
There were several scriptures that you were asked to read, and a couple of them stood out to me as I read.
In Romans 5:19 it reads "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
It made me think a lot about the creation, and the article of faith that says we won't be punished for Adam's transgression but for our own sins. However, because Adam ate the fruit of the tree we were all more susceptible to sin. Christ was perfect, he never sinned and he always loved- even when others didn't deserve it. Maybe especially when others didn't deserve it.
Another scripture that stood out to me was D&C 19: 15-18 which reads "15. Therefore I command you to repent- repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore- how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.
16. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they were repent;
17. But if they would not repent they must suffer even as;
18. Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit- and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink-"
When Christ selflessly let himself be nailed to that cross, and hung until he took his last mortal breath, it was not painless. He suffered. When he knelt in Gethsemane and he bled from every pore, he felt everything we feel. He was happy for us when we were happy, but he also felt our sorrows when we sinned, our heartbreaks with lost love, and our physical pain from broken bones, or paper cuts.
He knew, in that moment, that what he was taking on was not a small task, but he did it for us. He knew that the atonement would require pain that no man could bear, but he did it for us.
Christ loves us, because he knows us. Even at our darkest moments, even when we don't deserve it.
But even when we do.
Because I was focused on this experience this week, I had the atonement on my mind, and that helped me to look for ways in which it blesses my life.
My son, bless his perfect little heart, is teething. And going through a phase where no one is good enough for him except mommy. He won't even chase after the dog, which is saying a lot as that seems to be his favorite activity. Last week, even with Tylenol or Motrin, he was not a happy camper, and sleep eluded him. Which means that sleep eluded me. Seriously, there were a few times that I felt it so close I could touch it... and then it was ripped right from my precious little heart! The little man and I spent a lot of the nighttime hours in the living room, me trying desperately to get him to sleep at all and him tossing and turning and kicking me and screaming.
It was a long week.
Sometime during the week I got a text message from a friend who just had some teeth pulled. She was in a lot of pain, and when I asked what I could do to help her out she simply asked me to pray for her. Normally that would look something like me saying I can do that for you, and then sending off good prayer vibes into the universe. But when she asked it happened to be a rare moment when my son was asleep (a nap that lasted 20 m minutes), so I took the opportunity to actually get down on my knees and say a prayer for her.
As I prayed, thoughts about the atonement came to my mind and I asked that she be comforted by it and that she could learn through this experience how the atonement helps in all matters of our lives and not just through the power of repentance. Later that night, I drove to Target. I needed the break so I left my husband in charge, apologized for the long couple of house he was going to have, and walked around Target with no regrets.
Of course, I also talked to myself the whole way there, and it was at that time that I realized how the atonement could work for me in my week of crazy. Christ knows what I am going through in this very moment. He knows that having a teething baby can sometimes be a challenge. He felt that. He suffered that in the Garden of Gethsemane. He understands what the lack of sleep can do to you as a human (who NEEDS sleep), he knows what it can do to your relationships, he knows how lack of sleep can change your goals for the week. HE KNOWS.
He doesn't just SAY he knows. HE ACTUALLY KNOWS. He has physically and emotionally felt those same EXACT (not similar- EXACT) feelings. All I needed to do was pray and trust.
Friday was still a rough day, even after all the praying. But I was able to get through them better, and see things a little more clearly. Saturday things really turned around for my little man, and Sunday was like a normal day. How thankful I am for the reminder of the atonement, and to know that as I trust Christ he can take my burdens from me. I still might have to struggle, but I don't have to struggle alone.
Are you having trouble loving your neighbor? Use the atonement.
Are you struggling with the physical pain of a broken bone? Use the atonement.
Do you feel alone? Scared? and unsure about life? Use the atonement.
The atonement is one size fits all, because Christ suffered for that purpose. It's not the only step you will need to take, but it's a great first step.
You can read about experience Faith #3 here.
