Friendship

This last weekend I went to my roommate's grandma's house and we had a roommate reunion sleepover. It was so much fun! We got to update each other about our lives and new developments but most importantly, we got to rekindle our friendships. I am so happy that I was able to spend that time with them - it is a memory that I am not likely to forget soon!

When we woke up in the morning we went on a hike to overlook the city. Our shoes got really muddy, we fell in snow that was deeper than we thought and the hike took a lot longer than originally expected. However, we entertained each other and had a grand old time! On the way up we made a friend - a little white cat who followed us since we reached the dirt trail. She (we called her sarah-emily - on behalf of two of our roommates who couldn't stay the night) was obviously domestic as she responded to our encouragements and petting and was clean. As we continued to walk farther and farther from her home, I half expected her to turn back. Sarah-emily stayed with us though, through the mud (although she whined at some of it haha) and allowed us to carry her through the snow. (this is a picture of my roommate, Kimmie, holding Sarah-emily).

I would like to connect this to the fact that we all need friends and we all need to be loved. I love my roommates and they provide a type of support that no one else can. For a time, this little kitty loved us, because we played with her. Jesus loves us all the time, but not because of anything we have merited. He only asks one simple thing of us, that we love eachother! "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34 http://scriptures.lds.org/)

Through the Merits, and Mercy and Grace

These last few weeks I have been overwhelmed with blessings. These tender mercies of the Lord fill my life with such happiness and I don't know how there is any way I could deserve this. Then I realized that I don't - but that it is a gift of God. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "Obviously the unconditional blessings of the Atonement are unearned, but the conditional ones are not fully merited either. By living faithfully and keeping the commandments of God, one can receive additional privileges; but they are still given freely, not technically earned" (http://jesuschrist.lds.org).

Mark 14 gives Peter's account of Jesus' suffering in the garden of Gethsemane. He said that he "began to be sore amazed and to be very heavy" (Mark 14:33). In looking closer at the words "amazed" and "heavy" I gained new insight into the Atonement. Alternate Greek meanings for amazed include: amazed, awestruck, astonished. Even Jesus Christ was taken aback by the intensity of the "pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children" (2 Nephi 9:21). Other meanings for the Greek word "heavy" are depressed, dejected, in anguish (see footnote, Mark 14:33 https://lds.org). Isaiah prophesied: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows . . . he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities . . . he was oppressed, and he was afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4-7). I chose this picture of Jesus Christ in Gethsemane, by James C. Christensen because it caused me to look again and to ponder on what the Atonement cost and rethink what it means to me. For all of my wrongs, weaknesses and sorrows, I am able to be forgiven, healed and comforted through the great power of the Atonement. Jesus Christ is the source of my happiness and my salvation!
"To the thoughtful woman and man, it is "a matter of surpassing wonder" that the voluntary and merciful sacrifice of a single being could satisfy the infinite and eternal demands of justice, atone for every human transgression and misdeed, and thereby sweep all humankind into the encompassing arms of His merciful embrace. But so it is" (Holland, http://jesuschrist.lds.org). As there have been in the past, I know that there will be hard times to come even though, right now, my life is steady. But because of His Atonement, I will ultimately be able to overcome these difficulties. I can turn to Him in times of scarcity and times plenty and He will always be there. I testify that He lives and that through Him we can each obtain eternal life through His merits, mercy and His grace.