Hope Smiles Brightly Before You

Recently, it seems like all I've heard is C.S. Lewis quotes or excerpts from his writings, and I fall in love with them more and more each time I hear them. Just like the above quote, we cannot see the sun, but by the sun everything in our world is illuminated so that we can see. I love that our physical sun can so easily be compared to the Son of God, our brother, Jesus Christ. We cannot see Christ here in mortality, but because of His example, His love, and His gospel, we can see things important to our life here on mortality that are also important for our post-mortal life.

We were sent here to show our Heavenly Father that we love Him and would try our hardest to return to live with Him again one day. The only way possible for this true act of love for our Heavenly Father would require us to leave Him for a short while by receiving a mortal body that was imperfect and susceptible to temptation and pain. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but we must have known how incredibly worth it coming to Earth would be if we were willing to leave our heavenly family, fully knowing that we could easily fall off of the path and not make it back one day. But how great would God's joy be, as well as ours, when we one day are able to stand with Him again, knowing and recognizing Him as our literal Father, and showing Him that we truly did keep all His commandments and walk in the ways He taught us from the very beginning because we wanted to live with Him. Not because we were forced to--we all have our own agency--but because there was something in our spirit that helped motivate us to keep pushing forward to reach that great eternal reward of living with our Heavenly Father again one day. 

I can't wait for the day where I can meet my Heavenly Father, and tell Him how much I love Him and how much I had missed Him. Even though the trials and judgments we face every day for our religion, our beliefs, or other things can sometimes be overwhelming or seem impossible to overcome, I know that if we continue in faith and perseverance, we can one day stand proudly before Him, and know without a doubt that we tried our hardest, and He will be able to tell that we loved Him and we loved the gospel by how we lived our life. 

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.