Our Hearts Are Lifted Up

I've had this post as a draft for a while now, maybe a month or so.  I only had the title, planning to get to it soon.  I sat down today to look through my list of posts to see what drafts I had sitting around.  Sometimes, when I don't have time or energy to sit and write a post I'll write the title so I don't forget with the intention of coming back to it later.  (It does take a lot of energy for me sometimes, to get a post written.)

When I hurriedly wrote down the title to this post it was an emotional time for me.  A few weeks before I had received a call from my mom that a distant cousin of mine had been killed in a sledding accident.  I think I posted briefly about that.  He was a young father of a newborn and had only been married a little over a year. Only several months before his tragic death his older brother was killed in an accident where he was hit by a car. 

Although I wasn't close to this cousin, I was much older then him, I loved his family.  They are good people, some of the best you'll ever meet, and they've had a lot of tragedies and trials in their lives.  Their faith and growth through their trials, their selfless service to those around them, in the midst of their own unimaginable pain, is amazing to me.  We could all learn from their examples of drawing closer to the Savior through our trials and becoming more like Him.

This story of my cousin who has left behind, for a short mortal period, a widow and child really hit me in an emotional way.  I cried many tears over the news. 

After experiencing the loss of our dear friend last year and being close to his family has caused me to have more tender feelings about these things.  I've always felt sad when I hear about these kind of stories of tragedy but I feel it more deeply now since our experience with the passing of our friend. 
This post is to share an experience where I felt keenly the tender mercies of the Lord. 

A few weeks after my cousin was killed I was at church.  I was sitting on the stand, having been asked to give the prayer that Sunday.  My feelings were still tender when I thought about this cousin and his family. As I sat there I had a mixture of emotions.  I was sad and yet that morning, as I sat there, I was overcome with feelings of gratitude for the gospel.  I was looking out at everyone visiting as they found their seats for the meeting and felt so grateful for a ward family to love and support one another.  I was grateful for the atonement and the fact that the Savior is aware of our sufferings from experience and because of that he knows how to succor us.  I felt on the verge of tears the entire meeting.  My feelings were so tender. 

As we sang the sacrament hymn I couldn't get past the first line.  Because of our Savior, his atonement and resurrection, death has no sting.  I was overwhelmed by the love that our Savior and Heavenly Father have for us. 

The tears started to fall as I pondered the words of the song we sang, "Jesus of Nazareth".

Jesus of Nazareth,
Savior and King!
Triumphant over death,
Life thou didst bring,
Leaving thy Father's throne,
On earth to live,
Thy work to do alone,
Thy life to give.
While of this broken bread
Humbly we eat,
Our thoughts to thee are led
In rev'rence sweet.
Bruised, broken, torn for us
On Calvary's hill--
Thy suff'ring borne for us
Lives with us still.
As to our lips the cup
Gently we press,
Our hearts are lifted up;
Thy name we bless!
Guide us where'er we go,
Till in the end
Life evermore we'll know
Through thee, our Friend.

The lines in bold/italics are the ones that struck me the most that day.  They mirrored my thoughts exactly.  My heart was truly lifted up that day.  I felt the love the Savior has for all of us, his children.  I felt hope in the atonement and eternal families.  I felt strongly that the Lord is at the helm.  He has a plan and we need to only trust Him and we will be guided back to him.  All things will be made right in the end. 
Truly, I cannot express in words my feelings of gratitude for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  My soul sometimes feels like it could burst with the feelings that well up at times.  These experiences have only strengthened my testimony of a loving Savior and Heavenly Father and this gospel.