graven upon His hands

This week in class we covered one of my favorite scripture passages. I still remember staring at it one morning during personal study on my mission. I was sitting on a plastic lawn chair with my scriptures resting on a wooden desk that was up too high, and I had been having a rough time. My companion had shown me the scripture the day before, and that morning I couldn't get it out of my mind. It's found in 1 Nephi 21:14-16 and reads:

"But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me - but he will show that he hath not. For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

In Old Testament times, Zion/Judah had been destroyed by Babylon and felt forgotten, alone, and abandoned by the Lord. The Lord, however, had not forgotten about them at all; Zion had forgotten about Him. There have been times when I felt just like Zion. I think that all of us at one point or another have felt like Zion. Life comes with a plethora of problems and difficulties to endure. Sometimes these trials come because we've forsaken the Lord, and sometimes they come because they come. However, in those moments of sadness and anger and loneliness, we can know that He has not forgotten us. He cannot. We are graven upon the palms of His hands, and our walls are continually before Him. He is with us yesterday, today, and forever, lifting us up when we are down and giving us strength to carry on. We are never forgotten, and we are never alone. Jesus Christ is with us, and we are with Him, for we are forever graven upon the palms of His hands.