a thought on the spirit

Last night we had a huge thunder/lightning storm.  It was LOUD and CLOSE and it woke sweet Eden up.  She loves storms, but in the middle of the night this one was even making me nervous.  She needed some added comfort.  Of course, she had decided to sleep on the floor last night, so that meant that I spent the night laying beside her on the floor with my arm around her while we waited out the storm. 

She drifted in and out of sleep and stayed in a light sleep even when the big noises would come as long as I was there with her.  Every few thunders, she would reach her little hand up to my face to make sure I was there.  Her eyes were still closed and she was still half asleep, but if she felt my face, she would drift off to sleep again easily.

I thought a lot about the Holy Ghost as I lay there all night.  Feelings are so important; they are more powerful in lots of ways than sight. And our omnipotent Father sent the Holy Ghost to us because he knows how powerful our feelings are. I thought of my Loving Heavenly Father figuratively laying next to me as I "sleep" through this life.  And He has given me His Spirit to allow me to feel His love and comfort.  When I am wakened in the storms of life, I can keep my eyes closed and reach for that comfort.  And it will be there.  The Spirit is always there, with His hand on my back-although sometimes I don't recognize it until I'm scared and reach out for it.  But because I have the gift of the  Holy Ghost (given to me in conjunction with my Baptismal covenant) I will never be alone as long as I am living worthily.

What a beautiful gift.  What a precious memory I will have now of the night I got very little sleep, but was taught so fully of my Father's love for me. 

If you would like to learn more about this amazing gift from our Loving God, you can follow this link https://www.lds.org/topics/holy-ghost?lang=eng&query=gift+of+the+holy+ghost.  You can also find speeches on the subject and scriptures in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon that teach us about the Spirit by searching for "Holy Ghost" in the search box on lds.org.