"I Will Always Love You"

There was a day on campus when I went to say hi to a friend who I honestly had started to like. Seeing and visiting with them always made the day good.

Sadly the visit didn’t go well, and I got the impression that perhaps they were moving on from our friendship. We had been friends for many years and this hurt a lot. I started home, all the while praying in a panic to God for comfort. I was feeling so alone, depressed, and heartbroken.

Halfway home, and without any peace being felt, I slowed my pace and began to wonder: why was I not feeling His comfort? I had felt it before so many times – so why not with this?

Then the thought came “What will you do now?”

After a moment, I decided that since I knew the Savior was there, I would not give up, even if I did not feel it then. My prayer changed, and instead of praying for help, I testified of what I knew. I told God I knew He was there, and that even if I don’t feel peace now, I wouldn’t be angry with Him. I would continue to trust Him, no matter what, because I knew one day I would feel peace again.

It seemed like immediately after praying those words, I felt a warmth, like a hug, along with such comfort that it completely overpowered the pain. It was so strong I stopped in the middle of the road out of surprise and began to cry. The words that I felt were “I am here. I will always love you — even if you can’t feel it. Keep going. I am with you.”

It was a simple moment, but it changed me forever.