There is a story too horrible to tell.
Yet it was told in sickening detail in the newspaper. I stumbled upon it unaware, while I ate my breakfast one day. My eyes traveled through the paragraphs, while my spoon traveled to my mouth. There was no warning. Just as I put another spoonful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch into my mouth, the words unfolded themselves to me with no regret and no sorrow. Just awful, horrible facts.
The victim was much too young to have any understanding of the cruelties he was receiving. The abusers were children themselves, much too young to commit such heinous acts. Yet they did.
I have read many stories of human suffering, but this one won’t leave me. I read it a month ago, and I still have not been able to bring myself to say out loud what happened. I won’t give any more details here because I don’t want you to read what happened. It’s awful. It sneaks into my mind when I’m not expecting it. Nearly every day, I see what happened to this little boy and I cry for him and his parents.
For a while I was in despair. I thought that nothing, absolutely NOTHING, could make what happened to this boy any better. I then thought of others who have suffered at the hands of cruelty and began to wonder: can this EVER be fixed? Will they ever be whole? Even in Heaven, can they be made complete again?
I came to a point where I had to make a decision: Either the answer is no, and some things are just too horrible to ever be made right. Or it is yes, and the atonement of Jesus Christ is real.
I believe in the atonement. As soon as I thought that the answer has to be NO, nothing can fix these things, I thought about the atonement of Jesus Christ. He suffered not only for our sins, but for the things WE suffer. There is forgiveness and love and healing power. If the atonement is true, and I believe it is, then the atonement is the only thing that can fix these awful, cruel things.
As soon as I had this thought, my mind again went back to the little boy I read about. Oh no, I thought. Not even the atonement could fix this. But then I thought that if the atonement can’t fix this, then how can it be real? It IS real. I KNOW it is.
So the conclusion I came to is that the atonement is more powerful than I ever understood. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the ONLY thing that can save us. It is the ONLY thing that can make things right for that little boy. And if those things can be made right, then the atonement of Jesus Christ has to be the most powerful, most loving thing in this world.
I believe this. I know it to be true, yet I think I only grasp one millionth of that truth. Even so, with my one millionth of understanding, I am more grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ than I can even express.
This was painted by my dear friend, Eve Okura. Isn’t it lovely?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
My heart aches for stories like the one you described. BTW, thank you for not sharing the details. I don’t need my heart to break like it sounds yours did. But the solace and peace that comes from remembering the Atonement wasn’t made just for our sins but also for every thing we suffer (heartache, depression, etc) is always needed!
Isn’t it wonderful that the atonement works for EVERYONE – not just the sinner but for the victims. We’re all victims and we’re all sinners. This weekend has been one filled with the wonder of the atonement. Our mortal minds have a hard time wrapping themselves around this heavenly concept. Try as we might, it’s hard, but still brings a peace and joy to our souls.