Sometimes, you’ll feel like you are going through the journey of life alone; God promises you aren’t.
When I was a freshman in college, a young girl in my home ward took her own life. I hadn’t been very close with her growing up, but we had gone to church activities, like Girls Camp, together. After I found out, I remember trying to take a test for a class that night and nearly failing because I couldn’t stop thinking about how her life had ended too early. The news struck me harder than I would have expected, and I realized that it had to be so much worse for my little sister who was close friends with her, and worse still for the girl’s family.
PHOTO BY LUKAS ZISCHKE
In a recent talk, “Fear Not: Believe Only!”, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland put it beautifully when he said, “We must commit ourselves fully to that gift of life and run to the aid of those who are at risk of giving up this sacred gift.”
If someone close to you has lost the battle with depression, anxiety, or other mental illness, we grieve with you. If a friend is struggling with intrusive thoughts, love them. If you yourself are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm in any way, I pray that you know you aren’t alone. So many people love you, want to comfort and mourn with you, rather than mourn for you. If you feel you can’t talk to someone, know that you are always able to speak with your Heavenly Father and with your Heavenly brother, Jesus Christ. I testify that because of Christ’s Atonement, no one is ever alone. He suffered everything so that we here on this earth would better know how to help each other.
Remember, there is good in this world that is worth living for.
Read more from Elder Holland, here: “Fear Not: Believe Only!”
Source: churchofjesuschrist.org
—Cecilia Oaks, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY HELENA LOPES
Find more insights
Read more about enduring difficult earthly trials at: “Tested, Proved, and Polished” or “Steady in the Storms.”