Just some thoughts for the Sunday.

Happiness in the mind of a college student.

Occasionally we perceive happiness, especially in this day and age, as in getting what we want. Be that the girl of our dreams, getting the latest and greatest smart phone, acquiring more money, etc. However, as we all, or at least many of us know, these things are fleeting, and as easily as they come they must go. We can have the latest and great smart phone, but if we have no one to message or call through it, is that happiness real or even all that fulfilling? Our happiness is found within the relationships with others, and the ways that we treat others ultimately provides so much of our REAL happiness. Thinking upon the life of the Savior, His entire mission and purpose was devoted to others, His relationship with us. If we did not have a relationship with Christ, there would be no possible explanation of His performing of the Atonement. There would be no logical explanation for the extending of His merciful and uplifting hands… 

Except for the fact that He truly loves us. He loves us with a form of love that none of us can completely understand, but I do believe we have all captured glimpses of it in our daily lives. Perhaps in those moments of helping one of our siblings in a trying time, holding our child for the first to 1000th time, or maybe it’s found in those moments when we feel just a thankfulness for all of those people in our lives who have made us who we are. Perhaps it is in those small glimpses, those moments of realization, almost as if a light had been turned on in our minds, that we receive a glimpse of the feelings that the Savior had in the Garden of Gethsemane, and that He still has for us today. We can all unequivocally agree that in these moments, we feel true Happiness. We feel a sense of understanding, and a sense of confidence that things are going to work out in the end. That despite certain weaknesses or trials, that the love of the Lord will carry us through. I believe with all of my heart that these feelings are not just momentary, but are truly eternal. They shape our hearts and Spirits, and guide us down the path that we ultimately have been meant to walk. Imagine a world where every human being pursued this form of Happiness, that when they felt that divine love for their brothers and sisters, that they pursued that path with all ferventness, and diligence. Imagine a world in which this love abounded, and happiness could truly be found by every one of God’s Children. Herein is where we find the purpose of why our Father has placed us on this earth. He knew that through our life here on earth, we would be far from perfect. That we would stumble and fall, and occasionally develop very deep Spiritual scars. It makes sense that he would place with all of us a family, be that by blood or by those who step in as Family, but He has provided people, these relationships, to see us through, and help bind all of our wounds. The kiss of a loved one, or embrace of a life long friend, can fill the scars and wounds of any Spiritual nature. They can urge us to try again, to rise from the ashes of our broken past and shattered hopes, and continue back on the path towards Him that loves us most. He has given us the people to help us make it there. And with this experience, He has given us the chance to learn to love as He and the Son love. 

So yes, it is true that there are thousands upon thousands of times when finding this Happiness can seem like trying to find a eye contacts in the middle of a pitch black room… With no windows… And the contact is the same color as the floor… And is invisible… Okay just making a point that it’s hard. But! That is not the way that the Lord intended for us to live. He intended for us to seek out ways we can love others in these times of dire stress, as well He has given us the power to call upon Angels and Earthly Angels. He has given us the strength to become personal saviors to those around us in need, if we only but open our eyes. In these darkest hours, we can still find light, and pursue full speed to brighter days. The Lord never intended us to live in darkness our whole lives, and He has promised that as we strive to do what is right, the darkness will be dispelled to reveal a brighter day. There is an end to suffering, and there is an end to pain. It can truly be swallowed up in the love of the Savior, and as we remember Him and His love for us, we can have the strength to say, “Okay, I’ll try again.” Therein we find the first steps of finding that Happiness once more in our lives. The Savior desires for us to rely on Him, and to look unto Him in every thought, to doubt not, and to fear not. As we do this, I know that darkness and pain can be cast out, that fear can be diminished, and that Happiness will once again abound.