A special Easter essay for you on this holy day.

Have you ever felt distant from God? Maybe you've experienced moments of profound connection with Him, followed by periods where that connection feels weaker or even lost. This pattern isn't just common—it's part of our mortal experience. But understanding Christ's Atonement can teach us something profound about how to navigate these spiritual distances and draw closer to our Heavenly Parents.

We often think of Christ's Atonement as just a mechanism for sin forgiveness—a divine eraser for our mistakes. But this view misses something profound: the Atonement is also a perfect blueprint for maintaining and strengthening our relationship with God. Just as relationships in our mortal lives follow a cycle of Harmony → Disharmony → Repair/Resolution, our spiritual relationship with God follows a similar pattern.

To understand how we drift in our relationship with God, imagine a simple map with a center point and four directions we can move away from it. Like a compass with North, South, East, and West, these directions represent different ways we can distance ourselves from God. The goal is to stay at center—the sweet spot where our relationship with Him is healthy and strong.

The Relationship Grid from Terry Real

Just as a ship needs to constantly adjust its course to stay on track, we need to be aware of which direction we might be drifting. Think of it like a GPS, helping us recognize when we've strayed and showing us how to return to center.

In our spiritual lives, these directions manifest as:

At the center of this map lies something remarkable—perfect alignment with God's will. When we're centered, we experience what the Savior described when He said, "I and my Father are one." This isn't just about avoiding extremes; it's about finding the sweet spot where we are both strong and humble, both confident in God's love and deeply aware of our need for Him. It's where we see others as He sees them, and where we feel seen by Him.

Think of a time you felt closest to God. Perhaps it was during a profound prayer, or while serving others, or in a moment of pure gratitude. In those moments, you weren't pulled toward any extreme—you were centered, experiencing the perfect balance that comes from being aligned with Him.

This is where Christ's Atonement becomes our perfect guide. In Gethsemane, Christ demonstrated the ultimate example of living in the center. It required immense charity, love, and sacrifice - putting the needs of others above His own.

The beauty of understanding this spiritual map is that once we recognize where we've drifted, the path back becomes clear. Christ's Atonement provides the way back from every direction:

You might be thinking, "But returning to center seems overwhelming/impossible." Remember that Christ didn't just show us the way—He makes the way possible. Just as He took small steps in Gethsemane—first kneeling, then praying, then submitting His will—we too can take small steps toward center. Each small act of humility, each moment of extending charity, each decision to trust in His love moves us closer.

Consider Peter's experience during Christ's suffering. In one night, he moved from pride ("I will never deny thee"), to sin (denying Christ three times), to overwhelming guilt. Yet through Christ's loving look and later reassurance, Peter found his way back to center, becoming a powerful witness of the Savior. His journey shows us that no matter which direction we've drifted, the path back to center is always available through Christ.

Think about this: of all the miracles Christ could have performed, of all the ways He could have shown His power, He chose to suffer and die to make possible our return to our Heavenly Parents. This wasn't just one purpose of His sacrifice—it was THE purpose. Every drop of blood in Gethsemane, every painful moment on the cross, every aspect of the Atonement points to this singular goal: bringing us back to center, back to oneness with God.

When we're centered in our relationship with God, we experience the very thing Christ died to make possible. We feel His love more clearly, recognize His hand in our lives more readily, and experience a peace that surpasses understanding. This Easter, as we commemorate Christ's infinite sacrifice, let's remember what that sacrifice was for—to make possible our perfect alignment with God, our return to center, our journey home.