Because of Him

This Easter season, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints put out a beautiful video about the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It was everywhere on social media in the week leading up to Easter Sunday, including a photo challenge inspired by the video that filled my Instagram feed.  It was so inspiring to see the ways in which our Savior has touched and enhanced the lives of so many people.  His influence is different in each of our lives.  Some of us have a very real and very close relationship with Him.  Others may want that relationship to be stronger.  Still others may not have a relationship at all.  But I know that we can all form a relationship with Christ.  He is ready and waiting to succor us in our times of need and rejoice with us in our triumphs.  He is already doing just that.  

I was able to teach the Easter lesson for some of the young women at church on Sunday, and I based my lesson on this idea that "because of Him" life is so wonderful. It again strengthened my testimony of my Savior, and encouraged me to continue to enhance my own personal relationship with Him.

This Easter was void of a lot of the normal fanfare.  We made it to one small Easter egg hunt with our families, we didn't dye eggs and our Easter dinner was anything but fancy or traditional.  We spent the days leading up to Easter watching several videos and reading stories about the Savior and His resurrection.  It's hard to know what is clicking in those little minds we are trying so hard to mold, but my sweet Stella reminded me that the little things we did to remember our Savior made on impression on her small mind.  As I lay on the couch not feeling well she said, "Mom, it's okay if you don't feel good for the egg hunt, because Easter is about Jesus."  And she was right.  This sweet holiday is the perfect reminder that because of Him I get to live this blessed and beautiful life.

Because of Him no goodbye will last forever.

“The assurance of immortality also helps us bear the mortal separations involved in the death of our loved ones. Every one of us has wept at a death, grieved through a funeral, or stood in pain at a graveside. I am surely one who has. We should all praise God for the assured resurrection that makes our mortal separations temporary and gives us the hope and strength to carry on.” – Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Resurrection

 

Because of Him we can start again and again.

“However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love.  It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, The Laborers in the Vineyard

Because of Him I can be a better daughter.

“Young women everywhere who know they and others are daughters of a loving Heavenly Father show their love for Him by living virtuous, service-oriented, exemplary lives… I know unequivocally that you are a daughter of God. He knows you, He loves you, and He has a plan for you.” – Susan W. Tanner, Daughters of Heavenly Father

Because of Him I can get answers to my prayers.

“You are second to none. You are daughters of God. There has come to you as your birthright something beautiful and sacred and divine. Never forget that. Your Eternal Father is the great Master of the universe. He rules over all, but He also will listen to your prayers as His daughter and hear you as you speak with Him. He will answer your prayers. He will not leave you alone” – President Hinckley, Stay on the High Road

Because of Him I can serve others.
“When we have charity, we are willing to serve and help others when it is inconvenient and with no thought of recognition or reciprocation. We don’t wait to be assigned to help, because it becomes our very nature. As we choose to be kind, caring, generous, patient, accepting, forgiving, inclusive, and selfless, we discover we are abounding in charity.” – Silvia H. Allred, Charity Never Faileth

Because of Him I can love more fully.

“We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters… The more we allow the love of God to govern our minds and emotions—the more we allow our love for our Heavenly Father to swell within our hearts—the easier it is to love others with the pure love of Christ. As we open our hearts to the glowing dawn of the love of God, the darkness and cold of animosity and envy will eventually fade… The pure love of Christ can remove the scales of resentment and wrath from our eyes, allowing us to see others the way our Heavenly Father sees us: as flawed and imperfect mortals who have potential and worth far beyond our capacity to imagine. Because God loves us so much, we too must love and forgive each other.” – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Merciful Obtain Mercy.

Because of Him I can be a better me.

"We know we are sons and daughters of God, with the potential to become like Him as described in His plan of happiness. We know this potential is achieved through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and through obedience to the eternal laws and principles embedded in His gospel. We also know that Satan is totally dedicated to thwarting and derailing this marvelous plan-of-happiness knowledge and process. We know that one of his primary tools is to entice us to forget who we really are—to fail to realize or to forget our divine potential. This is the cruelest form of identity theft." - Elder Robert C. Oaks, Your Divine Heritage

Because of Him I live in this beautiful world.

“The Easter season is a good time for people everywhere to appreciate the wonders of nature and give thanks to the Creator of this beautiful world. Men and women in all parts of the world have a desperate need to take time from their demanding routines of everyday life and to quietly observe God’s miracles taking place all around them. Think of what would happen if all of us took time to look carefully at the wonders of nature that surround us and devoted ourselves to learning more about this world that God created for us… consider the myriad forms of plant and animal life that thrive in astounding balance upon the earth…ponder the power of the creative genius who lovingly provided such marvels for his children…how important it is for every human soul to see and appreciate the glory and grandeur of God in everything about us.” – M. Russell Ballard, God’s Love for His Children

Because of Him I am inspired.

“Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously. It may seem paradoxical, but that is why recognizing answers to prayer can sometimes be very difficult. Sometimes we unwisely try to face life by depending on our own experience and capacity. It is much wiser for us to seek through prayer and divine inspiration to know what to do. Our obedience assures that when required, we can qualify for divine power to accomplish an inspired objective.” – Richard G. Scott, How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life

Because of Him all that is unfair in this life will be made right.

“I believe we all understood that by coming to earth, we would be exposed to all of the experiences of earth life, including the not-so-pleasant trials of pain, suffering, hopelessness, sin, and death. There would be opposition and adversity. And if that was all we knew about the plan, I doubt if any of us would have embraced it, rejoicing, “That’s what I have always wanted—pain, suffering, hopelessness, sin, and death.” But it all came into focus, and it became acceptable, even desirable, when an Elder Brother stepped forward and offered that He would go down and make it all right. Out of pain and suffering He would bring peace. Out of hopelessness He would bring hope. Out of transgression He would bring repentance and forgiveness. Out of death He would bring the resurrection of lives. And with that explanation and most generous offer, each and every one of us concluded, “I can do that. That is a risk worth taking.” And so we chose.” – Richard C. Edgley, For Thy Good