For those who don't know me well, I'm a pretty easy going person. I'm not usually quick to feel angry or frustrated. When I am tired or sleep-deprived, however, I find myself weaker and much more susceptible to getting worked up. I am embarrassed but willing to admit that last night was one of those nights.

Our little one woke up at about one in the morning screaming. By 2:30, we felt like we'd tried everything we could possibly think of, and still, she would would not surrender to her utter exhaustion. Finally, I'd laid her down in her crib and gone back to bed. She was peaceful for a few minutes before she started crying once again.

At this point, I was at a complete loss as to what I should do for her. I began feeling angry and frustrated because:

1) I was not sound asleep in my bed like I wanted to be, and
2) No matter what I did, I could not figure out what my little one needed.

I went into her room and brought her out to the family room to sit on the couch with me for a bit. As we sat there, I noticed that I was tense with frustration and my thoughts reflected the anger that I was feeling. Then, a distinct thought came into my mind, "You have a choice. You can choose to be filled with anger and frustration, or you can choose to be filled with tenderness."

My heart softened immediately as I decided to choose tenderness over anger. I felt Him helping me let go of the unChristlike feelings I'd been having before, and they were replaced with love and peace. And then, something beautiful happened; what had been a burdensome and upsetting task just a minute before turned into a sweet and tender moment. I sat on the couch and gently rocked my sweet baby to sleep as I asked the Lord to forgive me and make me better. I felt of His love and took in that sweet moment, almost not wanting it to end.

I am grateful for the promptings of the Spirit, and the miracles that they can produce within us. If we listen closely, the Lord is always standing by, longing to take our weaknesses and change them into strengths.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." ~Ether 12:27

I believe that the Lord gave us weaknesses so that we could draw closer to Him and see ourselves grow with His help. He will help us recognize our weaknesses out of His love for us, and then He will lift us above ourselves and we will become better than we were before. Weaknesses are miracles waiting to happen within each of us! I am grateful for this small but significant miracle that I witnessed in myself, and I hope that the Spirit will continue to help me recognize places where I am weak but have the potential to be strong.

I try really hard to fill our home with lots of uplifting, religious art. One of my favorite artists is Greg Olsen. In our family room, we have one of his paintings of the Savior hanging on our wall. At the Savior's feet kneels a woman who has sinned, and they are praying together. She is clothed in a red dress and the Savior is completely clothed in white. I love that she kneels at his feet and that He is praying with her. Truly He is our advocate with the Father and pleads for our cause.

When I feel like I need to repent of something, I try to keep this imagery in mind. Sometimes I think we shy away from repentance because we associate it with pain or embarrassment, but this is completely wrong. That is what Satan wants us to think. Rather, it is a process that we go through, with our Savior, so that we can become like Him. I love the scripture in 3 Nephi 9:13:

"O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?"

Aren't those words so incredibly beautiful? I find such peace and comfort in those words that the Savior spoke. This scripture teaches us exactly what repentance is: it is returning to Jesus Christ and allowing Him to heal us. Jesus Christ performed many miracles of healing while He lived on the earth, but His power extends far beyond the wounded, disabled, or diseased. Those miracles that He performed are literal representations of the spiritual healing that He offers to each of us. We don't own the second picture, but there is another picture that goes with first one and, together, they create a finished story.

The second picture depicts the two happily sitting together; however, their clothing has changed. The woman who was once burdened by sin now wears all white, and the Savior is wearing a red sash and holding the red dress that she once wore.The symbolism in these pictures lifts me up and touches my heart every time I think about it. It is the most beautiful and literal depiction of the atonement of Jesus Christ that I have ever seen. There is no doubt that Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins. Whether we take advantage of that gift or not, the debt has been paid for us. He now stands waiting for each of us to seize that gift and use it as often as we possibly can. Whether it is a grievous sin or a seemingly small sin, His promise is the same:

"Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." -Isaiah 1:18

I see the miracle of repentance and forgiveness in my life often, but not as often as I should. If someone handed you the key to perfection tomorrow, would you not excitedly utilize that key without delay? The Savior has given us the key to perfection, and that is His atoning sacrifice. No matter how many times we have to use that key, it will never wear out. In fact, it was made to be used because He knew that, as human beings, we would need it a lot.

My desire is to make repentance and my usage of my Savior's atonement a more prominent and regular part of my everyday life. Each time we are cleansed from the stain of sin, it is, without a doubt, a miracle. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the sacrifices that He made so that we can become perfect. His admonishment for us to be perfect is not an impossible goal, but rather is an expression of the potential that lies within each of us. I know that we can become perfect with the help of our Savior. He lives! And He stands nearby, waiting for each of us to reach out and ask for His help.