When I had my first little baby, I learned pretty quickly that not much sleep was going to be happening for the first few weeks.
I can still distinctly remember her cries waking me up shortly after I had just fallen asleep.
My immediate instinct was to soothe her in any way possible in her bassinet.
I put my hand on her chest.
I fished around for her pacifier and tried to put that in her mouth.
And then quite often, I’d realize she wasn’t going back to sleep, and was ready to eat.
I’d pull my body up from the comfy sheets, prop up my pillows, pull her from her bassinet, and feed her for a half hour in the dark.
Motherhood is a sacrifice.
A sacrifice of my body. My comfort. My sleep. My time. My mental resources.
But this sacrifice has refined me into a more selfless, more kind, more fulfilled, and hopefully more Christlike person.
Could I ever ignore or forget my baby’s cries in the middle of the night?
It’s hard to even imagine.
And yet, our Savior will forget us even less than a mother and her newborn child.
“For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.” (1 Nephi 21:15)
He has given us a greater sacrifice than even a mother who has birthed a child.
His body was broken for us. His emotional energy was depleted for us. His mortal life was ended for us.
He has sacrificed so much for us, that He could never forget us.
He has graven us upon the palms of His hands.
Do we remember that we can cry out to Him?
Do we trust that He really will respond every time in exactly the way that we need?
Do we know that His sacrifice for us forges a connection that can never be lost?
The Lord will not forget us. He has never. And He will never.
He is aware of our every action and thought and move. He knows when we are in pain. He knows when we are confused. He knows when we just need a break.
All we need to do is trust that He really is there.
At 1:00 am, or whenever we need Him, He is there.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
