The Biggest Sacrifice
What is the
biggest event happening for you tomorrow? What is the biggest event happening
next week? How about next month or this year? I don’t know about most people,
but I don’t even remember what was the biggest event that happened in my day yesterday.
Alma 7:7 states, “For behold, I say unto you
there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more
importance than they all – for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer
liveth and cometh among His people.” This will be the greatest event in our future.
Our Savior will come again.
Over the past
few days, I have had the opportunity to listen to my Book of Mormon Institute
teacher teach about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Atonement doesn’t just
HEAL our sins, but it also HEALS our sorrows. He overcame everything, because
of the immense love He has for all of us. Christ has given us everything. Satan
has given us nothing. He overcame pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses,
infirmities, sins and death (Alma 7:11-13).
Christ died for YOU. Christ died for ME. 2 Nephi 2:6 says, “Wherefore,
redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and
truth.” Redemption is not just in Christ or done by Christ. It is IN AND
THROUGH Him. It’s like food. You don’t just chew your food and spit it out. It goes
through your organ systems. It’s in your blood. It’s in your cells. Its IN AND
THROUGH your entire body.
In class, we
read this following excerpt from Sister Chieko N. Okazaki
“Well, my dear sisters, the gospel is the good
news that can free us from guilt. We know that Jesus experienced the totality
of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that He experienced
everything- absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the
implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of
all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't
experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means He
knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer- how it was for your
mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student
body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked, and the car started
to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He
experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced Napalm in Vietnam. He
knows about drug addiction and alcoholism.
Let me go further. There is nothing you have
experienced as a woman that he does not also know and recognize. On a profound
level, he understands the hunger to hold your baby that sustains you through
pregnancy. He understands both the physical pain of giving birth and the
immense joy. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He understands about
rape and infertility and abortion. His last recorded words to his disciples
were, "And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the
world." (Matthew 28:20) He understands your mother-pain when your
five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth-grader,
when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has Down Syndrome. He knows
your mother-rage when a trusted babysitter sexually abuses your two-year-old,
when someone gives your thirteen-year-old drugs, when someone seduces your
seventeen-year-old. He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a
quiet apartment where the only children are visitors, when you hear that your
former husband and his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your
fiftieth wedding anniversary rolls around, and your husband has been dead for
two years. He knows all that. He's been there. He's been lower than all that.
He's not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior. He
came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living,
and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed by us, angry at us, or
shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and
our grief.
You know that people who live above a certain
latitude and experience very long winter nights can become depressed and even
suicidal, because something in our bodies requires whole spectrum light for a
certain number of hours a day. Our spiritual requirement for light is just as
desperate and as deep as our physical need for light. Jesus is the light of the
world. We know that this world is a dark place sometimes, but we need not walk
in darkness. The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the
people who walk in darkness can have a bright companion. We need Him, and He is
ready to come to us, if we'll open the door and let Him.”
As Brother Beckstrand read
the words of Sister Okazaki, my eyes began water. I thought, “What is
happening?” I have always known the Atonement to be true and I have always been
grateful to my Savior for the sacrifice He made for me., but in that moment,
something was different. My heart felt different. I could feel my heartbeat slow
down. The examples used made the Atonement feel even more REAL to me. I sat
there quietly, looking at the large screen filled with words. My devotion for
my Savior increased and I believe I was able to know my brother better. He came
to the rescue and laid down His life for me.
Ever since I moved out of the house, life hasn’t been easy. The
stress of school has weighed on my shoulders heavily. At times I have felt like
it is completely impossible to succeed in my classes. He has felt that stress
of college. He knows that it is hectic. Different things are being thrown at me
left and right, creating the feeling it is difficult to dodge everything. I
thought I was nervous driving in Las Vegas, but boy was I wrong. He has felt
the stress I have felt while driving among the crazy Utah drivers down
University Parkway. I never thought I
would experience homesickness like I have felt in my first semester of school.
It’s hard to express in words how I have felt missing my family and spending time
with them. Christ has experienced that feeling. My Savior has felt my loneliness
of coming from a large circle of friends to having slim to none. Unexpected
events arose in the past few weeks and I am still trying to recover from it. He
has felt my grief from disappointments and heartache from people that I love. He
has felt my pain. Sometimes you just need a good cry when things get tough… He
has felt that. These things may seem miniscule, but struggles are different depending
on the person. He knows me and understands what I have gone through, what I am
currently going through, and what I will go through in the future. In the
moment of experiencing trials, it’s difficult to understand and remember that
you aren’t the only one who has experienced how you have felt. Although people
may experience similar trials, emotions are different. There is one person who
can say, “I understand,” and that is the Savior. Isn’t it a comfort to know
that you aren’t the only one who struggles? Everyone does differently, but it’s
comforting to know that Christ has experienced EXACTLY what I have.
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