Thoughts on a Mountain #1

As mentioned in my last post, I went to Zion's National Park a couple weeks ago. Our first day in Snow Canyon, we spent the hour before sunset on top of a mountain reflecting on the things we learned. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it was probably the highlight of my trip.

Anyways, we came up with a lot of things we had learned and I'd like to share a few. Especially with today being Good Friday, I've been thinking about the Savior and His Atonement. So, here's the first story.

Some of the mountains we climbed that first day were pretty steep. Me, being a little nervous of heights, decided it was best to scoot down on my butt on some of the more steep things. But as a result, I got a little dusty, and though most of the dust would come off, there was still a mark. My friend laughed at me the whole day because dust shows up pretty well on black pants. But, there's actually a good message there.  So here's thought #1:

Sometimes you fall and get a little dusty. But one day it will all be washed clean.

You see, sometimes we fall. We make mistakes, we mess up, we do things we shouldn't. It is so easy to get angry with ourselves. We tell ourselves that we will never do that again. And then we do it. And then we promise ourselves we're done for good. And then we mess up again. But we need to remember that, though we may fall, we will one day be washed clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

It is not possible to be perfect in this life. But the point of this life is to make the Atonement effective in our lives so we will one day be perfected. Heavenly Father knows that we are not capable of perfection on our own, that is why He sent His son. Christ is the only way we can become like our Father in Heaven, and yet He knows it takes longer than a lifetime to reach that.

That's why we have the Atonement. It is for those times when we make mistakes, when we fall, when we make that decision we probably shouldn't have made, and when we get scared and have to scoot our way through. Through repentance we are able to wash those marks away and become clean once more.

Since we are human we must still deal with the consequences of our actions. That's the faint mark left after the fall. But we know that one day it will be completely washed away. It's a daily process, something we must work at constantly and diligently. But the Savior has given us the way back. He has given us the way to become perfect.  

Taking the Step

I had an experience a couple days ago that has stuck with me and I feel like I need to share.

This weekend I was able to travel to St. George, UT to do some hiking. We spent our first day climbing around in Snow Canyon. One of the places we explored were these lava tubes, which are basically these caves you can climb down to made by lava millions of years ago. Pretty legit.

Well, the third cave we got to was a little difficult to maneuver. In order to get out, you need to get up to this ledge and climb onto another ledge that's about 4-5 feet off the ground, with basically no hand or foot holds. The easiest thing to do is have someone already on the second ledge to pull you up.

We were down in this cave with a group of kids. They were jumping around going crazy so we stuck to ourselves and climbed around the cave. As we were in one of the little tunnels, I heard crying from one of the little girls. I went out to see what was wrong and make sure she was alright.

She was the last one of the kids to get pulled out of the cave. Her dad was on the ledge, reaching out to her and saying, "Just give me your hand and I'll pull you out." But she couldn't do it. She stood there clinging to the wall, crying, wanting to reach her dad but too afraid to let go of the wall. I ran over and picked her up and her dad pulled her up onto the ledge.

I've been thinking a lot about that experience the past few days. The sound of her crying has stayed with me. She just sounded so scared. Then I understood.

You see, we have a Heavenly Father who is reaching out to us. He is saying, "You just need to give me your hand and I will pull you up to me." And we stand there scared.We know what we need to do, but that step seems too much. We can't move or reach out. It feels like there's no way we can get out of that hole. It's during those time that the Savior comes. He hears our cries and comes to us. He will pick us up, He will wipe away our tears, and He will lift us up so we can reach our Father's hand. 

We don't need to be scared of taking that step. We know that we have someone there to support us. And even if we fall or take a wrong step, we can never fall so low that Christ can't lift us up. The darkness that may surround us, the mistakes we may have made, the trials we have that seem to hold us back can never separate us from Christ. He is always there. Always. He will never leave us alone. Though we may feel lost and scared, we can trust that He will come and save us and lift us higher. And with that knowledge we can rejoice and find peace and happiness even during those times when we are walking blindly.

When you are that little girl, crying and feeling alone, remember that you have a Savior who will come and lift you up. Trust in His Atonement, have faith that He can heal and strengthen you. He will hear your cries and He will come.

Realizations

Well, here we go. I've had quite a lot on my mind the past week. I hit several year marks since certain events happened in my life and I took it as an opportunity to see how far I've come. And you know what? Life is pretty awesome. Ridiculously amazing. Beautiful, wonderful, fantastic!

Why, do you ask? Well, it all comes from knowing my Heavenly Father loves me. What more do you need?

I know what it feels like to walk in the dark, when everything seems to fall apart around you and you ask, "Why me? Why this? Why now?". But there is a change that comes when you recognize God's love. I spent a long time asking those why questions and being set in what I wanted. And you know something? I spent all  time time being sad and unhappy. 

But then I finally realized that Heavenly Father loves me. And then all these other things fell into place. 

You see, once you understand His love for you everything else falls into place. Because you know His love, you know He will never lead you astray. Because you know His love you know you are never alone. When you know His love you come to know His Son, Jesus Christ. And as you come to know Christ, you know that He truly is our Savior and gave us the way back home to live with our Father. And when you know that you can't help but be happy.

Now walking in the dark isn't so scary because I know I am not alone. I still have no clue where I'm going or what the Lord has planned for me but for the first time in awhile I know I am on the right path. I can feel it. I still don't know why I had the trials I had, no more light has been shed what the future holds, but I have the most incredible joy and peace knowing I am loved. It makes me want to dance around singing at the top of my lungs! Isn't it just amazing what love can do?