The True Light

By Martina Schuebel

Some time ago someone said to me, “Wouldn’t it have been better for you never to have been born? Just think of all the problems you’ve had in life, and all the things you’ve missed out on.”

Deeply hurt, I protested, “But I enjoy life!”

To which my friend replied, “That wasn’t always the case, was it?”

Looking back, I realize that this person was absolutely right; it wasn’t always the case. I am blind, you see. There were times when I despaired, nights when I cried myself to sleep, and months when I was apathetic. There was a time when I spent my days feeling sorry for myself, a time when I said that there is no God, for a God would never allow such a thing to happen. Yes there was a time when I groped in the dark, a time when I was truly blind.

Admittedly, I do have my problems, and they start in the morning when I get out of bed and don’t know whether the clothes I put on match or not. Or when I’m waiting for the bus and don’t know whether the one arriving is the one I should board. And I can’t go about my daily work the way I would like to. Often people are reserved towards me, unsure of how to approach me.

But these are mere trifles, things that really don’t matter. The truly important things in life we do not perceive with our eyes. I know my world is smaller than your world, and yet it contains those precious things that to me are life: the assurance that we are God’s children and that our Heavenly Father loves us with a love no language on earth could ever describe; the conviction that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one true church, that we receive revelations through a prophet of God, and that Jesus the Christ died and was resurrected to atone for our sins and to give us eternal life. I am safe and secure. I have joy and peace in this knowledge.

I rejoice in the Gospel, even though my mind cannot fully grasp its incomparable beauty. I marvel at the thought of this light and would never want to exchange it for the light now denied me.

When I think of difficulties and sorrows which may be in store for me, I take comfort in the great promise given by the Savior:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28.)

What a comfort to know that He will give us rest! Life will be beautiful, life will be rich, life will be worth living.