Thankful for the morning.

I was up for about 3 hours last night unable to sleep. I wanted to read to find comfort, but my head hurt too much.

As I tried to find the perfect position to make my head hurt less, many scriptures came to mind that brought comfort. I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit. I'm thankful He's a comforter. I'm thankful that I was taught to study scriptures. I'm thankful for the image I have in my mind of my father reading his scriptures on the chair in the corner of his room in the dark hours of the early Indiana winter mornings. (Dad, did you know that's why I love my milking chair so much. It reminds me of my great spiritual heritage.) I'm thankful for the image I have of my mother reading her scriptures at the dining room table. I'm thankful for teachers who have helped me to love the scriptures and especially for my sweetheart who helps me to study them more effectively. But, most of all, I'm thankful that in the quiet hours of my discomfort that the scriptures that I find most comforting came to my mind, reminding me that He loves me and is aware of me.

"Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth,
give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."

"And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high."

I thought about Jesus in Gethsemane. Even he, the greatest of all, said, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me..." At various times of my life, I have personally learned of and felt the power of His Atoning sacrifice in different ways. I have felt the strength of the atonement in overcoming my sins and weaknesses. I have felt the strength of the atonement in bearing the burdens that others have placed on me. I have felt Him carry my griefs.

I am now learning more than ever before of how his Atoning sacrifice allows him to help in sickness. One of the Lord's apostles, Elder Neal A Maxwell said, "Jesus knows how to succor us in the midst of our grief and sicknesses precisely because Jesus has already borne our griefs and sicknesses. He knows them firsthand; thus His empathy is earned."


I do not profess to understand how that was possible, but I know it really happened. I don't know how He withstood every person's grief, sins, and sickness, but I'm thankful that He did. I'm thankful that because He did, He truly does know how to succor me. And you.