Weakness

Have you ever been hurt deeply by someone you thought you could trust?

Have you been betrayed or hurt by a loved one?

Have you had a friendship that fell apart, and you thought back and said, "What went wrong?"

Have you ever done something to another person and regretted it terribly (whether intentional or not), but with no way to apologize to the person you hurt?

Have you ever felt alone, as though the world seems to flowing all around you, yet you seem to be standing still?

Have you ever lost someone you cared about greatly?

I don't know the answers you might have for the questions listed above, but I know mine is a yes to all of them.

I believe, if you said "no" to any of the above, you will experience it at some point in your life.

But all hope is NOT lost!!

There is hope.  There is always hope.

And it's found through our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.  During His infinite Atonement, He felt every pain, every hurt we ever had or ever will experience.  He has felt our loneliness, our suffering, our grief, our doubt, our worry, and He is the ultimate Comforter because of this.  He is someone we can go to for help and guidance when all seems lost in this world.  At times when life simply seems too dark, and that no one cares, I can guarantee that He cares.

He knows who we really are; for He lived with us in the premortal life and taught us, interacted with us, and came to know us each individually.

Therefore, He knows what we are capable of becoming in this life.

He sees not only our weaknesses, but also our many strengths.

Often in this world, we tend to focus on the negative--what we don't have.  Things like, "I'm not pretty enough" or "skinny enough," "If only I had that talent, I'd be happy," "I wish I was popular like that person is," or "If only I were more socially accepted...."

Thoughts like this only serve to drive the Spirit away and halt our progress.

We need to realize that yes, we all have weaknesses.  But we also have strengths.  I think we have more strengths than we have weaknesses.  If we would stop looking for the negatives and start looking for the positives, I think we would find we have more strength than we realized.  Yes, there is always room for improvement in all aspects of life (if you have perfected an aspect of your life, please let me know so we can chat! ^-~).

But that is what this life is about: Growing, changing, and drawing closer to our Savior and Heavenly Father.

We may not be the "perfect" boyfriend/girlfriend/friend, but we all know how to love, and we all know what it's like to be hurt.  But through the pain of being hurt, we must also latch on to our strength to love.  By showing that love to others, more love will grow within us, and one day we will have that love we desire.

That is just one small example.

Like what the Lord speaks to Moroni in the Book of Ether:

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."  Ether 12:27 [Italics added for emphasis]

We are given weaknesses in this life and are here to experience the pains associate with mortality... But we are also here to be made strong, and to overcome those pains so that we can experience true joy.

I want to clarify, we did not come to this life purely to suffer.  We came to this earth to gain the experience and knowledge necessary to return to our Heavenly Father's presence and become gods and goddesses ourselves one day, but we must live worthily here and try the best we possibly can.  Keep in mind, I did not say we had to be perfect in this life, but we must strive to become so to our fullest capacity.  Not having to be perfect is one of the many blessings of the Atonement.  If the Atonement of Jesus Christ had not happened, there would be no life, no mortal experience, and no chance of ever seeing our Heavenly Father again.  But, because we do have a Savior, we are blessed with the opportunity to experience this life--this glorious life--and return back to our Heavenly Father.

There is much joy in this life.  As difficult as it may seem some times, there is always joy around us, if we but open our hearts to see and feel it.

So, during your next moment of "the blues," let me challenge you to say a word of prayer (even just in your heart if you cannot kneel down and pray in your current location), and the Lord will help you.  I have seen this work in my life, and through Him, I was made stronger and better able to face my challenges.  Those challenges may seem "small" to others, but they are big for me, and therefore they are big to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

They will listen, They will help, They will comfort.

Always.