I had my Sunday Message written, and then I got a call from a friend of mine and wrote this Sunday’s message instead.
This Easter will definitely be different for her as she celebrates the true meaning of Easter. You see, after years of trying to forgive a member of her family, it finally occurred.💖
You want to know how, don’t you?🥰
You want to know how a person who has caused a great deal of pain deserves forgiveness, don’t you?🧐
And you want to know how it can even happen. Right?🤔
Well, my dear friend grew up in an unusual home. No one was religious. No one said prayers, no one went to church, and they didn’t read scriptures--it was a home that just depended on decisions they made on their own. Her stepmother just didn’t like her very much, so until the end of her stepmother’s life, they had a kind of détente. My friend just always tiptoed around her so as not to set her off. One day the stepmother tried to apologize, but as my girlfriend said, “It was just too late.” Today my friend is one of the most God-loving women I know, but even with a strong testimony of the Savior’s atonement, she just couldn’t let her hurt feelings go toward this woman. But then, a week ago, she heard a talk about forgiveness, and something changed in her heart. She said to me, “Maybe it was just time, or maybe I felt my stepmother changed after being in heaven for 22 years,😂 but I could finally just let it go.”
She basically said to me when she truly and completely handed this lifelong burden over to the Savior, she really did feel the gift of forgiveness. She said, “It was a kind of superpower she hadn’t felt before.” Her simple act of forgiveness opened up an understanding of why her stepmother had treated her the way she did. Suddenly she felt tremendous sadness for this woman where just hurt had been before. “Forgiveness was easier, just like the Savior said. It was as though the stone rolling away to reveal an empty tomb was the weight lifted off my shoulders. And my sorrows were “washed away.” She continued. “That same day, I ran into two friends. I felt inspired to tell them what had occurred earlier that day. Oddly enough, both women had similar stories. One said her mother was 91, and she hadn’t been very nice to her lately and at times caregiving is very difficult.” I said I understood, and of course, we cried through it all. Then as we headed home to try to do better, another woman came up to see if we were ok (Women never cry alone😂). I explained to her what had happened to me and quietly, she shared the feelings she had about her own elderly mother. They had a very difficult relationship, and she expressed how bad she felt because she didn’t know how to fix it. She actually said it “weighed” on her. I explained she just needed to do what she could but let the Savior's love in to heal. I reminded her how many years I had carried hurt feelings and that it takes time. Then I told her, “Bring your best, and The Lord will give you superpowers!” Then my friend said to me, “Marie, there were 3 of us changed that day, and through these experiences, I can tell you, the Savior knows us… individually!! He knows YOU...ALL OF US!!!! AND HE LOVES US.”💖
Three women… their lives changed forever!!!! Today we celebrate the Savior’s victory over death, sin, pain, and sorrow. His sacrifice gave us not only immortality but a healing ability we could never have had.
I am so grateful for the Savior’s atonement because, without it, there would be no joy, no hope….just death with no purpose. I also share my personal testimony that I know the atonement is real! I have seen its healing power manifested throughout my life and I’m so very grateful for my Savior's love. His miracles are real…they are infinite!
Today, as we remember Easter, may it bring to mind a beautiful sunrise… the incredible story of Mary going to the tomb only to find it empty….and this profound statement, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” Luke 24:5
The greatest miracle of all time and eternity…
Our Savior's infinite atonement🙏
#HeIsRisen
Just as I was getting ready to post another very dear friend sent this…. Please read and thank you to her for this post. It touched my heart deeply!!!💖
https://www.facebook.com/taywest/posts/pfbid022yukZFwHQP3GtTHiq3gVSqEXrHCezrYPa9hD6f39t3Qy8CZKREHZZaQSUbpCzRk2l