Sometimes you have an epiphany about something you should have grasped long ago. This past Sunday was one of those days for me. After a long week, I was drained and ready for some spiritual recharging. As I sat in Sacrament meeting and thought about the week, I found a deeper understanding of the sacrament than I have in a long while.
The sacrament is all about starting over. I have a whole new week to begin on. I have a clean slate. And all those things that weighed me down over the week were lightened as I began to realize just how the sacrament and the Atonement make change, repentance, and forgiveness so sweet.
I think it was especially timely as we just celebrated Easter and heard so many amazing talks from General Conference on the Atonement. We also just had a lesson on the Passover. All these combined to teach me just how pertinent they are to my daily life.
The Passover is a symbol and in the likeness of the Atonement that was to be made by Jesus. And both are commemorated and remembered in the Sacrament. By teaching the children of Israel what was to come, the Lord had a very real way of showing them the mercy and goodness in the plan of salvation. When Christ fulfilled His sacrifice, he took away the need for the literal sacrificing of animals through His act of mercy and compassion for each of us. And now today, we also have a way to remember that we can be saved from the choices and the decisions we make on a daily basis when we make repentance part of our lives.
I know that through the past week I’ve learned some important lessons that I’ll not soon forget. I hope to make the sacrament an even deeper part of my life as I continue to understand its implications personally.