I pray everyday to have opportunities to 'feel' something special; something unique. Some days those prayers are answered, some days they are not. But on one special day a couple of weeks ago this happened:
I was talking on the phone at work with one of our clients. I knew a little about her story because the Agent in the office shared it with me. But I had never talked about it with her, Desi (name was changed).
Desi had asked me to review her policies to make sure she had sufficient coverage in case of an accident. I went through all of them with her, she apologized for taking up so much of my time and then said, "I am not sure if you know my story, why I am so worried about how much coverage I have."
...(by the way...she has a Four Million dollar umbrella coverage over all of her policies)...
She went on to tell me that several years ago she was in an accident, these are her words:
"It was on a winter night, it was very dark and the roads were covered with ice and snow. I was going about 5 miles and hour, it was hard to see and there was quite a bit of traffic. I was slowing down to turn into a local shopping center, as I turned the corner I hit something...Hollie, it was a person. I just barely tapped him with my side mirror. I jumped out of my car and asked him if he was ok. He said he was but I could tell that he was a little shaken up so we called the police and an ambulance to get him to the doctor to make sure he was alright. I was terrified! I followed the ambulance to the hospital and stayed to make sure he was going to be ok. I was relieved, but had a nagging feeling. I couldn't eat or sleep, and for three days I called the hospital to see how he was doing. The first day I called the nurse told me that he was fine, he was resting. The second day I called the nurse said that his family was in the room with him and they were all having a wonderful time, he was doing well. The third day I called the nurse paused...and after a few seconds; which felt like hours, she said, "He died this morning." Hollie, I didn't know what to do. My whole world went black. How could I live with what I had done."
I have known Desi for a couple of years. She is in her 60's, she has beautiful white hair and has the heart of an Angel. Rarely does one meet someone with a 'pure heart', but she is one of those precious souls. She is always kind and cheerful. Always smiling, always serving.
I asked her, "How do you survive something like that?"
She responded, "Hollie, are you LDS?" I told her that I am. Then she said, "It was ONLY through the power of the Atonement that I was healed. For weeks I wanted to die. I just couldn't get passed what I had done...Hollie, I took someone's life...I deserved to die. Then one day I knew that I couldn't do it anymore, I knew that it was too heavy of a burden to carry on my own. I turned it over, I allowed the Atonement to work in my life, I allowed the Atonement to heal me. My Savior gave His life for all of my sins, my sorrows, my mistakes and heartaches...oh Hollie, so many people think that the Atonement is only for sinners; people who intentionally hurt other people...but Hollie, the Atonement reaches so much farther than that. It heals the victims, it heals the broken hearted. It makes broken things whole. I am who I am today because of what I have learned."
My heart was so touched, I said to Desi, "Thank you so much for sharing your story with me, thank you for sharing something so personal."
She apologized for keeping me on the phone so long, for taking me away from my real work. I reassured her that it was my pleasure to spend time on the phone and thanked her again for telling me her story.
What a precious gift she shared with me that day. I will never forget her tender voice and sweet spirit.
I too, know that the Atonement is real, I too, know that it reaches far beyond sin. I know it is real because I have also felt the miracle of the true healing power that can only come from the True Healer, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Love you Hollie!
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