“Lo, I Am with Thee”

by Arianna Devite

The pressure of trying to do a million things right and feeling like a failure was beginning to weigh me down. It was nearing exam time, and suddenly it seemed that most of my teachers realized that they still had three or four more chapters to squeeze in.

Even my efforts to get some of the less active Laurels back had become frustrating as I listened to endless excuses about why coming to church and activities was impossible.

I felt like a puppet whose strings were all being pulled at once without anyone letting go. On top of it all, I felt that I was facing everything alone. Sometimes crying made me feel better, but only for a moment.

Then one Sunday in Laurel class something happened that gave me the comfort and assurance I had been seeking. Our lesson for that particular Sunday was on pressures. How appropriate, I thought. The lesson did offer some helpful hints, but it was a scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants that seemed directed specifically at me.

“Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days” (D&C 24:8).

How could I have been so forgetful? I was never alone. My Heavenly Father was beside me the whole way. In the face of my trials and pressures, I had simply forgotten. As I looked back, I realized that the trials I had been through had made me stronger. Through opposition, I had grown. I felt ready to face future obstacles, knowing that my Heavenly Father would be right beside me, helping me to overcome them.

Illustrated by Ron Peterson