Invisible

Sunday Thoughts: Invisible

August 9, 2015

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Kenzie M

I've been wanting to write this post for a while now, but I feel like I've sort of got writer's block. Or maybe it's just that I'm nervous that I won't do the topic justice. It's something I am very passionate about because I have struggled with it myself, and I know that it is absolutely miserable. I hope and pray that by sharing my experiences and the things that saved me, I will be able to help someone else. 

Invisible.

For pretty much all of high school this is how I felt. I felt invisible. I sometimes wondered whether people would even notice if I was suddenly not there. Would people be sad or would life just go on as normal?  These are the scary thoughts that ran through my head when I felt invisible. It always felt like the more people that I was surrounded by, the lonelier I felt. It's a painful oxymoron that many people face in our society. We can be surrounded by a multitude of people: in the hallway at school, at work, at church, and many other places, and yet it's like no body sees us.

No body should have to feel invisible. 

A song that I have recently fallen in love with is "Invisible" by Hunter Hayes. It is actually the song that inspired me to write this post. Everytime I listen to that song I get goosebumps and my heart feels like it will burst. 

Invisible

By: Hunter Hayes

Crowded hallways are the loneliest places
For outcasts and rebels
Or anyone who just dares to be different
And you've been trying for so long
To find out where your place is
But in their narrow minds
There's no room for anyone who dares to do something different
Oh, but listen for a minute

Trust the one
Who's been where you are wishing all it was
Was sticks and stones
Those words cut deep but they don't mean you're all alone
And you're not invisible
Hear me out,
There's so much more to life than what you're feeling now
Someday you'll look back on all these days
And all this pain is gonna be invisible
Oh, invisible

Trust in our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ is essential to overcoming these feelings of loneliness and despair. Trust me when I say that Jesus Christ has been through exactly what you are going through. Whether it be depression, anxiety, loneliness, grief, guilt. He has been through all of YOUR pain. I used to think that in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ had suffered in general the feelings that I listed above. However, there was one experience in my senior year of high school that changed my entire view of the Atonement and what Christ went through. 

I moved to Cambodia the summer after my junior year of high school with my mom and dad. I have never in my life felt lonelier. I felt lonely, angry, frustrated, and so much more. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I cried my heart out to my Heavenly Father. I cried during the whole prayer as I poured out my heart and everything that was going through my mind and heart. I literally felt like I was going to break underneath the intense emotions I was feeling. 

It was at that moment when I felt the embrace of God. It was like a warm blanket had been wrapped around me and an immense load was taken off of my back. I knew without a doubt at that moment that Jesus Christ had suffered in the Garden of Gethsamene for me. He had experienced the EXACT feelings and emotions I had just cried about in prayer. He knew how it felt to be me in Cambodia. 

I know that Jesus Christ has been where you are. Let us not forget that He once walked the path of loneliness while on this Earth as well. He wishes He could take the pain away from us; that it was just a mere problem of sticks and stones. 

So your confidence is quiet
To them quiet looks like weakness
But you don't have to fight it
'Cause you're strong enough to win without a war
Every heart has a rhythm
Let yours beat out so loudly
That everyone can hear it
Yeah, I promise you don't need to hide it anymore
Oh, and never be afraid of doing something different
Dare to be something more

These labels that they give you
just 'cause they don't understand
If you look past this moment
You'll see you've got a friend
Waving a flag for who you are
And all you're gonna do
Yeah, so here's to you
And here's to anyone who's ever felt invisible

Yeah, and you're not invisible
Hear me out,
There's so much more to life than what you're feeling now
And someday you'll look back on all these days
And all this pain is gonna be invisible
It'll be invisible

Although it's painful and most days are downright miserable, it will pass. I look back on the experiences I had in Cambodia and high school and the pain is truly invisible. I still remember the experiences and how much it hurt to walk down the hall during school and feel like I could melt into the wall and no one would notice. I'm so glad I remember them though, because I realize how far I have come, with the Lord's help. I look back and often realize that, even though the Lord was by my side the whole time, there is only one pair of footprints. My Savior, and Your Savior, literally saves us. If we let Him, He carries us across the thorny path of life. The beautiful thing about it all is that He has already saved us. He walked our paths of loneliness alone. And now He does it again, but this time instead of suffering He is helping us across the way. He knows where to step and if we go to Him and trust in Him, He will carry us.

You are not and never will be invisible to Him. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you more than is even comprehensible and they are waiting with open arms to carry us across the thorny path of loneliness. All we have to do is run to Them and trust Them.  

Simply,

Kenzie M