It’s no secret that traumatic, abusive and heartbreaking moments that most people will face in this world cultivate extended periods of darkness and loneliness in life. It can leave a person feeling broken and abandoned. Although these types of trials and burdens are tough to get through, scriptures teach that trials are necessary for personal growth. Heather Carter BYU-Idaho’s online instructor manager and this week’s devotional speaker affirmed these teachings in a recent interview with BYU-Idaho Radio about her devotional address.
“I think all of us experience a degree of brokenness in life,” she said. “I think that’s part of the purpose, unfortunately, of our experience here and I think it’s important to recognize that it’s not just about breaking us, but there is a purpose behind that ... that we can grow, learn and become stronger from the things that we experience.”
Carter confirmed in her BYU-Idaho devotional address that in broken places, people can find aspirations in the gospel of Jesus Christ and tranquility in the Lord.
“Our mortal experience presents us with challenges, from broken relationships to broken dreams,” Carter said. “Each of us has our own broken places. Yet in the gospel, we find hope. The scriptures are replete with promises that we can find peace in Christ: ‘Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.’ ‘Take my yoke upon you [...] and ye shall find rest.’ ‘Follow me.’ As human beings living a mortal experience, there’s no doubt we need greater and greater relief from our Savior.”
Carter emphasized in her address that one way to find strength in broken places is to seek the Lord and develop an exclusive relationship with Him. She also mentioned that journaling, especially after speaking to the Lord, can help people draw nearer to Him.
“As you work to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, don’t be afraid to tell Him everything,” she said in her devotional. “President Nelson has promised us that we will ‘grow into the principle of revelation,’ deepening our relationship with our Savior as we ‘pray in the name of Jesus Christ about [our] concerns, [our] fears, [our] weaknesses—yes, the very longings of [our hearts]. And then listen!’ He has encouraged us to ‘Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take.’ Doing so can help us feel closer to the Lord than we ever have before.”
Carter said in the process of developing a relationship with the Lord and drawing closer to Him often a person’s status or circumstances will not change but praying for understanding and having faith that Jesus Christ has the power to heal all things will help when experiencing feelings of hopelessness.
“May we each seek after Him, that we may come to know Him as he knows us, that we may trust Him. In so doing, we will find strength at our broken places,” she said.