The Eternal Gift

I think many of us can think of years past when a teacher or parent has asked us what gift we will give our Savior this Christmas. That is a very powerful question, especially when the world focuses so heavily on what we receive and what electric wonder we can buy a family member to prove to them that we love them. Whatever focus we place on the Savior reminds the gift given many centuries and reminds us what we can return to Him.

Yet this week I was asked a question that rang in my heart and has stayed with me. What can I do to better use the gift Christ has already given to me? My institute teacher said that often people don't want to go to the Savior for help because they don't want to make His suffering worse. When in all actuality Christ has already done the suffering when we refuse his assistance we are simply suffering and hurting over something that was already covered years before, we ourselves as well as Christ hurt, yet find no relief.

I took that question so much to heart because all too often I try to go it on my own. I forget that the Atonement covers pain, a sore heart, loneliness, frustration, anger, sadness and all of the myriad of feelings attached to life. Christ did not just go into that garden to feel the sins of the Ten Commandments, He feels the heart ache of addiction, He feels the heart ache of effort unrecieved, He feels the pain of trying to hard yet still falling short, He feels the pain of being left alone when we so badly need a hug, He knows what it is to feel overwhelmed, to feel that we will always fall short, He knows what it is to feel inadequate, to feel betrayal, to feel exhausted. Christ knew that all of these things and so many others were all apart of this life, He also knew that this life is about finding joy and He knew that without his sacrifice we could not find both. He wants to give us peace, hope and joy, yet He cannot give us these things until we go to him, unless we more fully use the gift he has already given to us.

I have seen a glimpse of nights that never seem to end, of times when I ache to be okay, but see no way to find it, I've seen days of joy seem so short. Our Heavenly Father knew we would be tested within millimeters of our limits, thus a gift, a gift eternally given and infinitely useful, the gift of our Savior is never used up and never too used to still be efficacious.

Our Savior Jesus Christ gave us the ultimate gift, the only moments He suffers are we refuse the gift and think we should do it on our own. For each moment we call on our Father for aid, we learn of the supernal gift of love and we learn to love as our Father loves.