Hope Always

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The following verses are very special to me.
-2 Nephi 1:13 "O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe"
-> those chains? I see those as the chains of "misery and woe," of depression, of sadness in general. And while it's perfectly normal (healthy, even) to be sad from time to time, it's not okay to dwell on it. So if you find yourself having a pity party and dwelling on your chains of awfulness, "awake from a deep sleep"!! Heavenly Father wants you to be happy :)

-2 Nephi 1:15 "...I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love"
-> now isn't that just an amazing thought? Think of that. ETERNALLY. Heavenly Father loves YOU!

-2 Nephi 2:27 "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself"
-> remember how I said Heavenly Father wants you to be happy? Well, the devil "seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." Rude! Don't give the devil the satisfaction of seeing you hurt and sad and all that not-fun stuff. It says right here that you have the power to choose between them. Now, I understand that some people legitimately have a chemical imbalance in their brains that makes that choice nearly impossible. And the original intent of this verse is to motivate you to keep His commandments, not to motivate you to let yourself be happy. But you understand my point, right? I like to think of this verse both ways. I need to choose the right, and I need to let myself be happy. Cuz sometimes I have problems letting myself be happy.

-2 Nephi 4:20-21 "My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh"
-> happy happy happy :) Heavenly Father is always there for you :)

-2 Nephi 4:26-28 "...why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions? And why should I yield to win, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace, and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul"
-> when I read these verses, I wrote in my journal, "why should I be depressed? Not why AM I, why SHOULD I? Big difference." Think about that difference in context of those verses.

I call these the "depression verses," because even tho the original intent was to warn against sin, they're great motivation to stop a pity party. I know they helped me a lot in times of trial.

As I said earlier, motivation doesn't work for some people. Not everyone can simply make the choice to be happy and have it work. If that's you, don't beat yourself up about it! I've been there. And I know you've heard this before, but d'you know what you can do to find happiness again? Get help! There are people out there who can help you! It's not a sign of weakness. Admitting that you can't do something on your own is a sign of great strength. Trust me.

<3 Marie-Rose