How Christ's Atonement Helps Us Understand Our Worth...

I'm not sure who needs to read this right now, but I feel very strongly that I need to write this blog post. I felt like I needed to write it last night and got busy. However, tonight, I am feeling an urgency to write it. I can't fully explain... I just know there is someone God is trying to get this message to, and if it is you, I hope you know how much He LOVES you! Im feeling it very, very strongly right now. So I hope this helps and that you know without a doubt that you are not alone. He is with you and He will help you get through it. 

Yesterday morning I started to think about the Atonement of Christ. I thought about how I've had a struggle over the years with recognizing my own worth. I literally have a canvas in my room that says "I am enough".  I painted it awhile ago to remind myself every day. As I was thinking about this, I felt very strongly that if I want to see my worth even more clearly, I need to strengthen my relationship with the Savior. I thought that was interesting, considering I feel like I have the strongest relationship with the Savior that I ever have. Yet, it became clear to me that I need to study the Atonement specifically. That is how I will understand my worth, because it will help me see how the Savior sees my worth. Immediately I pictured Him on the cross... suffering for all of us. I thought about how I've heard people say that He did that for everyone but them. Like somehow He wouldn't have done it just for them. It feels a bit more distant. Like we are somehow just one of the billions of people He died for. 

As I thought about that, I started to see how the Atonement might feel like it was done for the collective but not necessarily for us individually. I started to think more about what the Atonement means for me... personally. To me it's not just about what Jesus did on the cross. That was just the beginning of the miracles. You see... this is where we start to see how personal it really is. What Jesus did on the cross made it possible for Him to experience EVERY SINGLE THING WITH US! Everything. It made it so He could be with us ALL the time. Not just when things are good and not just when things are bad. Not just when we pray or go to church. But always. The first moment we wake up, the lull in the afternoon, right before bed. Every second of every day. 

About a month ago I had this epiphany about unconditional love... something I believe very few of us comprehend (if any at all). I thought about the concept of loving someone no matter what choices they make, no matter if they reciprocate our love, no matter if their actions are good or evil. Unconditional love doesn't say I love you but need you to change. Unconditional love doesn't say I love you when we get along. It doesn't find fault with others. It simply is. It always is the same. Nothing we do or don't do will ever change the amount of love God has for us. Think about that for a minute... 

When we are at our lowest... when we have made choices that are blatantly against the things Christ taught... His love for us stays the same. There is nothing we can do that will ever change the love God has for us. Nothing. We can push Him away, we can deny His existence, we can turn our backs on Him, and it won't make a difference. He loves us unconditionally. 

I think this is where I started to see the Atonement as two parts: for the collective (What happened on the cross) and for the individual (Understanding and being with us through every life experience we have). 

The Atonement was in fact done for you. He would do it all again even if it was just for YOU! Because He loves us unconditionally. It allows Christ to understand us completely... without judgment (or with perfect judgement). He knows exactly what's going on in our lives, how we are feeling, our biggest desires, and greatest regrets. He knows what it feels like to lose all hope. He knows what it feels like to be alone... completely alone. He felt that on the cross and, because He did, it meant we never had to be completely alone because He will always be with us. 

So if you were the person God wanted to read this message, please know how much He loves you! He is with you, even when you don't feel it. Even when you have pushed Him away. Even when you don't comprehend how you can make your way back to Him. Don't worry, because He never went anywhere. He's closer than you realize and I can promise you His love for you is unconditional! Christ's Atonement can help you to see your worth, because He did it for you. YOU mean that much to Him!