Finding Hope: God's Struggle, A Gift To All

A Quote:

Elder Melvin J. Ballard explained why it "pleased God" not to interfere: "In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and hid in some part of his universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. Oh, in that moment when he might have saved his Son, I thank him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son in mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that his love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men."

I'm not exactly sure where I am going with this, but I was looking through my old journal, now my most prized possession, and I couldn't help but share this beautiful and heartbreaking description of the struggle our Father had by giving us the gift of eternal life. His joy and his pain were on what seemed to be the very same level.

There are a lot of things that I don't understand about the gospel. There are things that I can't even begin to comprehend. Yet, I know this one thing to be true. That Christ struggled and endured all things for me. Every feeling of loneliness, every guilt, every stubbed toe, he endured the pain he endured the confusion and loss. He was left alone so that I never have to be. God loved his Son so much and he loved us along with it.

I find hope in this. That, when things have gone bad and my trails seem to hard to bear, that God is there. Christ is there, giving me little shining pieces of hope to live by. He lights my path and shows me the way. He gives me little treasures to hold onto so that I can remember what I am working towards. Little treasures of hope, like General Conference this weekend. To be able to hear the teachings and the unshakeable testimonies of others gives me hope that I will make it. I will become like God. I will be a "joint-heir" in the kingdom of my Father, a God.

Being LDS is probably the greatest thing ever. There is so much to hope for, so much to look forward to. We have another testament of Christ that has all the answers to our problems, and gives us comfort and guidance, always. We have a Prophet on the earth who is the mouthpiece of our Heavenly Father delivering messages from on high. Most of all, we have the power of prayer, the divine right to speak with our loving Father and to hear and feel the whisperings of the "still small voice". We are so lucky. I am SO lucky.

Forever & Always

Shelby Lou