I know Him too!

 “Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us.”                                                     -President Benson                         

 

 

 

 

 

I heard this quote recently in a talk and it keeps coming back to my mind.  What I see when I read this quote, the scenerio that plays in my mind, is a beautiful one.   I think of seeing a loved one or friend again, who you haven't seen for some time.  The joy and happiness at seeing them again, the familiarity and closeness you feel as if no time has passed.  This is how I imagine it.

Although I do not remember my life before this one, I have felt the spirit whisper to me that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father who I lived with before I came here.  He knows me so well, better than I know myself.  I like the thought that comes from this quote that I know Him too.

I know Heavenly Father loves me.  I have felt that in different ways throughout my life.  There is one particular experience that I had that has never happened before or since.  In hindsight I look at the timing of it and it testifies of my Heavenly Father being aware of me.  He was aware of me and He knew I needed to know that at that point in my life. 

I was in my first college semester far away from home.  During my college years I had to do a lot of growing and finding out who I was, separate from my family.  I had always relied heavily on my parents and going away from home helped me to learn to rely more on the Lord.

One day I was sitting at my kitchen table in my dorm room.  I don't even remember doing anything or even if anyone else was around.  I do remember staring out the window.  I can't even remember what I was pondering.  I wish I would have written this down soon after it happened to remember the details but I'll never forget the feelings I had. 

As I sat there I remember feeling this strong feeling of homesickness  and yearning, but not for my earthly home.  It was a homesickness for my Heavenly Father and my heavenly home.  I was completely shocked and surprised at the feeling since it was so strong and I had never felt anything like it before. It was like, for a moment, the veil had been lifted.  There was no vision, nothing I could see, just my feelings.  It was so brief but so powerful it was almost tangible.

I felt this yearning and I also felt this pure love from my Heavenly Father.  It was so strong it almost brought me to tears.  I felt his love for me and it was so familiar and so real.  I was struck by how familiar it felt to me.  I've always known Heavenly Father loved me and that I love him but never have I felt it like this.   

Though the moment was brief it was something I'll never forget.  It was a tender mercy perfectly placed during a time when I needed it even more than I realized. 

Heavenly Father knows us and loves us beyond our comprehension and we know Him too!  I know it and have felt it!