Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Matthew 14:30-31

It has always been of comfort and hope to me to know that the Lord is always there. Always. We can never be too sad, we can never sin too much, we can never stray too far for the grace of his atonement to find us.

God is waiting, always, for us to come to him. "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you." He does not force, he does not command, he only encourages. When we desire to follow him, to receive his blessings, his grace, his love, his help, he is overjoyed to receive us and to aid us in every possible way.

In any relationship, communication is a key factor. And thus, it is communication that Satan strives so hard to destroy. The communication between Father and son. Father and daughter. If he can cut off our lifeline to Christ, he can easily lead us down hill and fast. If we pray diligently and sincerely to our Father in Heaven constantly and fervently, He will always answer us in the way that is best suited for our lives. Because He knows us perfectly.

I think many of us forget that the atonement is not simply for forgiving sins and mistakes. The atonement is for healing, for help, for physical, mental, and emotional pains. The Savior has felt everything, everything, you have painfully endured. I have a few near and dear friends who are currently experiencing sadness that makes my heart ache for them. To know that I am not there to hold them and hug them makes me cry real, big, large, tears. But I pray every single night, every single day, for them. For their comfort. If all I can do is pray that God will send them all his love, then that is exactly what I'll do. With everything I have, I will my love to stretch across the 10,000 miles and reach them.

It is hard to be alone and it is hard to feel such sadness. It is hard to know others are feeling pain and that you cannot physically comfort them. It is so hard. It is a deep, emotional pain. To love fully is literally to feel the full extent of your love for others, which must involve times of heart ache.

One of my favorite hymns is Be Still My Soul, especially the second verse.

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

In the first verse it says, "The Lord is on thy side; With patience bear they cross of grief or pain ... Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

No matter the distress and the sadness of the trials we are faced with, patience and faith leads us to the light at the end of the tunnel. Do not let your confidence in Christ become shaken. He knows you. He loves you.

I think a lot of us assume that God will be waiting for us at the top of a steep climb, open arms and waiting to congratulate us as we reach the top. But I believe he is with us every step of the way. Climbing along with us, even though he's endured the hardship before, helping us on, and we reach the top together. Triumphant.

If you do nothing else, please listen to this. Not on your computer, but stick in your headphones, let it consume all your thoughts for just 5 minutes, close your eyes, and listen. I loved it. MoTab

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