Sunday Soliloquy: Easter Sunday

It's been a while since I did a Sunday Soliloquy, which is indicative of my overall state lately. I've been in kind of a slump, thanks in part to bad shoes making it hard to exercise and school stress killing my happy moods.

But now school is just about over for me forever, and on this Easter Sunday, I'm looking ahead with a "brightness of hope".

I'm so grateful for the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This holiday isn't celebrated nearly as enthusiastically as Christmas, but Easter is undoubtedly more important.

Today is the celebration of when Jesus Christ took upon Him all our sins. He suffered the punishment Himself, so that when we feel remorse for the mistakes we've made and do our best to change our lives around, we can escape those punishments.

The laws of justice say that someone must suffer for sins, but by doing all the suffering Himself, Jesus Christ fulfilled the conditions for a law of mercy. Now, if we do all we can to change, God can forgive us. His Son saved us from the eternal torment that so many of us have deserved at some point in our lives.

As if that weren't wonderful enough, Jesus Christ then went on to give His life and take it up again. He essentially took the law of physical death and broke it, so that all of us will live again, with perfect bodies, with our families, never to suffer physical pains again.

Today as I'm reflecting on that gift that God gave us, I'm sad for all the sins that Jesus Christ had to suffer for because of me. I keep making mistakes, retroactively putting a heavier burden on His shoulders.

And I'm so amazed by the fact that He did it not because He had to, but because He wanted to. He loves me, even when I keep falling. He knew how many sins I would weigh Him down with, but He submitted to the Atonement anyways. He is all-forgiving.

I'm so grateful that He would do that for me. Now, because of Him, when I look back on my mistakes, I can know that those mistakes don't define me. They don't cripple me forever and condemn me to eternal torment. Because now I'm changing my ways and moving forward as a new person.

Jesus Christ made that possible. He made it possible for us to put aside the natural man and change for the better, despite the mistakes that we've made in the past. He ensured that death is not the end. We have a glorious future to look forward to if we do what's right, accept His help, and thoroughly repent by never going back to where we were.

Right now I confess that my scripture reading has been superficial, my prayers kind of hurried, and my priorities skewed. I wasted too much time this last semester. I now weigh more than I have in almost four years.

But all that can change, thanks to my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Every choice I make that brings me a step forward puts me in reach of His help. He carries me through the challenges whenever I turn to Him. And I fully intend to turn to Him more and more each day, now that I'm leaving college life behind and facing a future as a responsible, spiritual adult.

I should have made this change a long time ago, but I'm grateful that it's never too late. I can keep smiling, despite my past, knowing that I have a bright future ahead of me.

On a side note, I have the best grandparents. I decided last minute that I was going to spend Easter weekend with them in Salt Lake, and we dyed Easter eggs last night. Then I woke up this morning to find that they'd even put together an Easter basket for me. So sweet! I'm really glad I decided to spend this wonderful holiday with them, instead of staying at home where it would have just been like any other Sunday.