We are healed and made whole here a little and there a little. It is step by step. For most of us, it is incremental and gradual.

It is more the small and the simple rather than the dramatic and the spectacular. Sure, there might be a person or instances here and there where figuratively speaking, the parting of the Red Sea takes place. But for most of us, it will be more gradual and mundane. But that does not make it any less real or any less sure.

As we reach and and lift others, the Heavens reach down and lift us.

It is much like climbing a ladder.

As we reach down and pull others up a rung or two, the Heavens then reach down and pull us up a rung or two.

It is a function of compassion and grace. The doctrine on grace is clear. We receive grace and we give grace. It is grace for grace, not grace for nothing.

Not only do we progress and become more like our Father in Heaven via grace, but we are healed and made whole by the grace and the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Some of this progression and healing will occur in this mortal life. Some of it will occur in the world of spirits prior to the resurrection. But one thing is for certain. Healing will come in its full measure. We will be made whole.

What is key to remember is that the doctrine of grace involves patience, trust, and faith.

It requires us to be dependent upon a loving Father who has our best interest in mind, who can see things that we are not yet able to see. More often than not, we won’t recognize or realize what is going on behind the scenes until far into the healing process. But a Father who understands us far better than we understand ourselves is intimately involved in every last detail.

As night gradually turns to day (often imperceptibly in the moment), so to do our deepest hurts turn into our greatest joys as we come to experience the Atonement acting in our lives.

The key is our willingness to play on the Lord’s team in bringing about His purposes. We must be willing to love and serve others. That is what unlocks divine compassion. Yes, as we reach down and hold up the hands that hang down, and as we strengthen he feeble kneed, we too are elevated to a higher plane.

Remember, the Atonement did not end on the cross. It is ongoing. Jesus Christ is not off somewhere playing endless golf. He is there to console us, to carry us, to lift us, to comfort us. He is still there doing the work of healing our hearts and making us whole. We are bound to Him, and He is bound to us. He gets us and understands us and feels deep compassion for us. He stands at the door and knocks, but we must open it. The key to opening the door to let Him in is via love and service – or showing grace to others.