Something of Importance.

Easter Break just began for me today! I now have a four day blissful weekend :)

Things have been tossed upside down recently at the Seaborn home.

-With us having a puppy, Tulip.

-Bryan having a new job, that couldn't have come at a better time (we are so blessed!)

-Finals coming up in about 2 weeks.

I can't help but reflect about my Savior, Jesus Christ, during this Easter Season.

I am going to attach a really personal essay that I wrote for my understanding the Bible class. What I wrote in it has only been shared with a few people. I hope that it doesn't get exploited or anything like that, but, in the SHORT essay, it shows how I have formed a relationship with Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father through the trials I have faced.

Please read it all, don't skip it because it seems long, it is really important to me.

I was born in to a very religious Christian family. We went to church every Sunday and discussed religion on a daily basis. It was definitely one of the main focuses within our family. Going to church was not an option, which I was fine with because I really enjoyed going to church. We read scriptures daily together as a family, had family prayer together every night, and had discussions about Christ daily. I feel that with this upbringing, it was very easy for me to grow up believing in God. But I also realized that with this upbringing, it was very easy to mistake my parent’s belief in God for my own.

I have always considered myself a spiritual person. I say my prayers everyday, read scriptures every night, and try to develop my relationship with God. But this was not a result from my upbringing, even though it was a huge influence in my life, and a huge influence into why I do what I do today. I have had many experiences where my own faith in Christ has been tested. From these trials, I feel that I have gained the knowledge for myself to say that I do believe that my Redeemer Lives.

One of the trials I have had in my life that really sticks out to me on why I do believe the way I do occurred when I was only 10 or 11. I was an athlete, and my sport was gymnastics. I had been in gymnastics since I was two years old. It was my passion and it was so much fun for me! But things all changed when I got older. I was 10, and my gymnastics coach, whom had my family’s trust, and mine, molested me. This continued of the next year, and I was ashamed, my coach told me everything was my fault, and that if I told anyone that I would be in trouble and that no one would like me anymore. I bottled everything up inside until one day my mom had a spiritual prompting to ask me if my coach had been touching me inappropriately. Like a dam had just burst, I told my mom everything. We went to the police the next day. We ended up going to trial, and his original sentence was 96 years in prison with no parole, it was later reduced to 36 years.

Through this whole ordeal, my thoughts kept being turned to my Savior, and I first wondered, why would He let this happen to me? And the more and more I thought about it, the more upset I got. One day, I realized that trials are given to make us stronger people and that because this happened to me, and because I spoke out about it, that this man could never hurt anyone ever again. And I felt like a stronger person that was closer to my Heavenly Father, as well as Christ. This trial also made me think about Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for me, the Atonement.

The Atonement covers everyone, because of this, we can call be forgiven of our sins. But through my trial I also learned that the Atonement does more than forgive me of my sins when I repent, but it can heal people and make them whole. When Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, he felt every pain, every joy, every thought, and even every emotion that I have felt, along with everyone else. Knowing that, it made me realize that I am never alone in this world. That Christ has felt everything that I have, and that allowed me to heal, and to grow closer to Him.

This ordeal also allowed me to see that Christ can help you through people here on earth. I grew closer to my family, my friends, everyone who supported me through this trial. And I can honestly say, I feel like they were heaven sent to me, and they helped me heal as well.

There have been many more trials that I have happened upon in my life so far, and I know that there will be more. But I can say that they have and will bring my closer to my Savior, the one who died for me, and loves me more than I can comprehend. I do believe that my Savior died for me, and that he loves everyone on this earth. I know that He lives, and will never desert me. Going through trials allowed me to develop my own testimony of my Savior, and I thank him for that everyday.

If you read this all, thank you.