You Are Not Alone

The other day I dropped my 5-year-old off at the kindergarten playground like I do every morning. Sometimes I watch her over the fence for a few moments just to make sure she is okay. On this particular morning, I watched her walk around looking for a friend to play with. She was surrounded by other children but didn't find a friend as immediately as she had wanted. Her face was sad and so of course, I felt sad as well. But then I noticed there were other children doing the same thing. They were all standing by themselves, looking around the playground seeing no one with whom they could play. It was obvious by the expressions on their faces that they felt alone - despite the fact that they were surrounded by others. If they could have all just opened their eyes to the others around them and stepped outside of themselves to make a new friend...

I wondered how often we adults do the same thing. We can feel so alone even when we are surrounded by people. There are very legitimate reasons for feeling alone but even if we are in a situation in which we feel that no one is there for us, we can always know, ALWAYS know that Jesus Christ will always be there for us.

Isaiah 49:15-16,
"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yes, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

The Savior asked if a mother could ever forget her child. Of course the answer is no, 99.9% of the time. But even mothers make mistakes and yes, compassion for a child is not always there when needed. Yet, the Savior says that He will never forget us and He will always have compassion. Why? Because of the wounds from the nails that He allowed to be pierced through His hands because of His all encompassing love for each of us. He will not forget us. It is as if our names have been graven upon the palms of His hands. We are "continually" in His thoughts and heart.

Turn to Him. Tell Him everything. Let Him walk with you and kneel with you and cry with you. If it is important to you, it is important to Him. You are not alone

Just like the kids on the playground who thought they were all alone. Opportunities for friendship were all around them, they only had to open their eyes to the possibilities. Even of greater significance, although my daughter did not see me watching her and feeling her pain and loving her, I was still there. I saw everything and my heart was filled with compassion for her, even though I could see how easily she could fix her situation, my heart still ached, because her heart was aching a bit. The Savior sees all, knows all and feels all - even when we don't think He does. I wanted my daughter to look over toward me so that I could give her an encouraging smile. She didn't. I think the Savior feels the same way - if we will look to Him, He wants to give us an encouraging smile and help us in every moment.

Eventually, my daughter did find a friend to play with and so did the other kids. The key word there is "eventually". Until that "eventually" comes along, the Savior will be there. He is our truest and most loyal friend. We are never alone.