"As Now [I] Take the Sacrament"

Until this semester, I hadn't missed taking the sacrament in probably about 5 years.

Every single Sunday, even while feeling sick, I would drag myself to church to at least take the sacrament. If I had to go home after sacrament meeting, so be it. But I was always there to take the sacrament.

A few weeks ago I was feeling really nauseous and could hardly get out of bed. And so I missed the sacrament for the first time in years.

And then today I couldn't stop hacking, and so I missed sacrament meeting again. But this time, I was determined not to miss out on the sacrament if I could.

This evening around 5:30 PM, sacrament meeting was brought to me. My home and visiting teachers sang the first verse of As Now We Take the Sacrament, my home teachers broke bread and blessed and passed the bread and water to me, and then my visiting teachers told me things that they learned in church today and in a devotional last night.

My home and visiting teachers are not MoTab by any means, but as they sang to me, I closed my eyes and listened to their voices and could feel the Savior's love for me personally. And as my home teachers awkwardly tried to figure out how to best cover and bless individual portions of bread and water, I remembered the Savior and His individual sacrifice for me.

Today I was reminded why the sacrament is so important to me. Why I always try SO hard to be at church every single Sunday- even if I feel like death -just to take the sacrament.

I love the rest of church of course. The talks, teaching Mission Prep, the Relief Society lessons, etc. But the pinnacle of any Sunday is partaking of the sacrament.

The sacrament is so important because it is my opportunity each and every week to realign my thoughts and intents with the Savior's. My opportunity to personally recommit to love and serve Him and to be re-cleansed and renewed.

Taking the sacrament is such a personal action. It is one on one time with Christ where I am able to remember His love and reflect on His service. A time where I can reflect on how much He loves me, individually. How He knows Annaliese Kretchman. It is a time for me to be filled with hope that things can and will get better because I have Him by my side.

Christ ministered one by one. And today I was able to experience that in a very literal way.

I am so grateful to be surrounded by faithful brothers and sisters who care about me enough to help me to feel of the Savior's love in any way that they can.

I am so grateful for the power and authority of the priesthood that my home teachers hold. And for their individual efforts to live worthily to exercise that power.

And I am so grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father and a loving Brother and Savior who both know me and my unique needs and circumstances.

And today I am grateful for the reminder that while the sacrament is for everyone, the sacrament is also just for me.