On Thursday, I sat in a chair while several people took their turns poking and prodding the veins of my inner arms so that I could give blood. They finally decided on a vein, made the poke and I watched my blood fill a plastic bag. As it does every time, my mind goes back to when the flow of blood went the opposite direction. I give because I have been given much.
A doctor stood at the foot of my hospital bed. I could hear him, I knew the words he was speaking, but my mind could not make any meaning from them. While I had no gaping wound, the level of blood in my veins was dropping. I was bleeding internally. As an ultrasound tech searched for the source of the bleeding, she found something else, a
large blood clot forming just below my heart. To treat the clot would exacerbate the bleeding and to stop the bleeding would enhance the clot so a filter was placed in my vein to hold back the clot, the bleeding was stopped, and someone else’s blood flowed into my veins.
As I began to recover, I saw my experience as an analogy of the atonement of Jesus Christ. When we begin to truly “trust in His redeeming blood”, a filter enters our lives, the filter of His love, our worth and His cleansing power. That filter increases our confidence to hold back the doubts, fears, and anxiety that come with our weakness and mortality. As His redeeming blood begins to infuse our lives it brings clarity to confused minds and strength to every part of our souls. His redeeming blood makes whole and, in His time, heals everything it touches.
“I plead with you to come unto Him so that He can heal you! He will heal you from sin as you repent. He will heal you from sadness and fear. He will heal you from the wounds of this world. Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!” (President Russell M. Nelson, April 2023)
Jesus Christ is the answer to our every hope, every sorrow, every joy, every weakness. He knows them all and knows how to make us whole and healed. “Turn to Him!”