I Am In Your Midst

"And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you;" (D&C 61:36). Discouragement and disillusionment often accompany us as we try to figure out this thing called life. We are not strong or fast or clever enough to do and become all that we desire and dream and hope for. And especially when we're having a bad day, the very last thing we need is for anyone to tell us to be of good cheer. But we should. I'm not saying mere moments after suffering a great tragedy we need to plaster a smile to our faces and shout over and over in our head I FEEL HAPPY I FEEL HAPPY I FEEL HAPPY! But when we recognize that despite our best efforts, despite our most egregious sins, despite our most glaring character flaws and weaknesses, the fact that Christ is still in our midst and He has not forsaken us should cheer us up even just a little bit. Christ is our loving Savior and He wants the best for us and He wants the best from us, but in no way does He just pack up and leave when all we can do just isn't enough. It can be hard to be anything other than miserable when we are left picking up the pieces of our broken heart, but we can be comforted in knowing that even at our lowest, Christ is still with us and will not forsake us.