Heartbroken. What a devastating word to attach to oneself. And in a day and age where we so fiercely guard our hearts and treat things like love and trust like it’s a privilege to bestow only on those closest to us, a word like heartbroken almost feels like an admission to carelessness or weakness. We act like it’s something to be ashamed of; like it’s something to hide.

Have you ever faced something that feels so much bigger than you? Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by the problems in your life or the struggles you are facing? Has joy ever felt completely unattainable for you? Well there are two things I can say to encourage you today: first, we have all been there, and second, in the midst of your trial, God is always doing something behind the scenes. You are never alone in what you are facing and there is always a reason for why you are facing it.

How is it that this is one of the simplest messages in the gospel, yet we still can’t seem to grasp it? Trust me, I’ve done it, and still do. Sometimes, we read certain passages so much that we gloss over them. But we can’t allow our head knowledge to rob us of heart knowledge. So if you read today’s key verse and immediately checked out, then I need you to reposition your heart, because I can promise you, none of us have figured out how to carry out these commandments the way Jesus did. No matter how many Sunday school lessons you sat through, no matter how many episodes of VeggieTales you’ve watched, these lessons are never done learning.

Our country has been living through days and weeks full of heartbreak. We have seen life-altering events take place that have left people both speechless and driven to speak out. It has been a very difficult time for many families and individuals to wrap our heads around these horrifying events and the actions needed to prevent them from happening again. I am not writing this to air out my political views or voice my personal feelings. Quite honestly, that is irrelevant compared to the fact that God so badly wants to show us all His comfort and love in times such as these. That is what I want to share with you today because we all desperately need this revelation in one way or another.

When I was five years old, I thought I knew what love looked like. It looked like daring tales involving glass slippers or enchanted castles; a prince in disguise that swept the beautiful heroine off her feet in all the Disney-saturated technicolor of the late-90s.