I myself find it hard to believe that someone who demands perfection will always be willing to forgive me my follies. I struggle comprehending the fact that God will keep forgiving. In my mind, I'm just waiting for the day that He says to me, "Nope, I'm sorry. You've done that sin one too many times. I can't forgive you anymore. You've been fairly warned time and again, and time again you say you won't, and yet you do. There's no more I can do for you." But that's the beauty of the atonement, of repentance, of God's mercy and His love.
It never ends.
God will not, no not once, forsake us if we come unto Him. He will gladly receive us with open arms as did the Prodigal's father. We can mess up time and again. We can be a repeat offender, as is often the case while we struggle to become perfect (one day), but we may all still one day hear the words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
Heather, thanks for Sharing your testimony and these gems. I, like you, try to be there for those who struggle. I've been fortunate enough to make a career of it--I'm a psychologist. I have to give a lesson this week on pornography in my home ward--fifth Sunday lesson. My inspired bishop asked me to make it "positive." One of the messages I wanted to share was that failure is not defeat, it's often a part of success--one ingredient in the recipe. So when we fail, don't dump the mixing bowl in the sink! Well, I had heard President Packer's quote but didn't have it in print, so googled around trying to find it and found your blog. Thanks for sharing this quote with the rest of us. I was able to get what I was looking for, and I thought it was all I was looking for. It certainly would have been enough. Now here are the tender mercies: the music you have playing here brought the Spirit into my day--unmistakably. And since it made me feel like lingering, I noticed your quote of the week from President Hinckley. "Don't waste your time feeling sorry for yourself. Don't belittle yourself. Never forget that you are a child of God. You have a divine birthright. Something of the very nature of God is within you." Wow! That matches another topic I was going to cover in my lesson: being gentle instead of hard on ourselves when we struggle. Now I have two quotes from the prophets that I can share this Sunday that I didn't have before! Thanks again for what you're doing. As a fellow blogger I know that it's easy to wonder whether our efforts are making a difference. Well, your's sure made a difference to me! Not only am I aided by the content you share, I'm strengthened by your conviction, inspired by your example, and my spirit has been lifted by the light of yours.
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