Timing is Everything

At General Conference, Elder Brook D. Hales of the Seventy gave an awesome talk on answers to prayer. He said that "Sometimes our most earnest and worthy desires are not answered in the way we hope, but we find that God has greater blessings in store."

That really hit me. Sometimes when our prayers aren't answered right away, it's because God has a better plan for us than we are hoping for ourselves.

Lately I've been pondering the timing of Trevor and I finding each other. I'd expected to get married a lot younger than 30. I went to BYU anxiously hoping to be a "BYU success story" and find my eternal companion. (Also, to get my education!! Despite the common assumption about girls in my major, I was not there just to find a husband, but I did hope that it might happen along the way.) Four years went by... No husband. I remember spending my graduation ceremony with a friend of mine who experienced life the way I'd hoped I would--she had a crush on a cute boy during her freshman year, she wrote him faithfully during his mission, and when he got back, he finally asked her out. Soon they were married and tackling college life together. I remember at the end of our graduation, my friend and I went in search of our families. Her husband ran up to her to congratulate her, and she flung herself into his arms. There it was--my dream, playing out for someone else. Meanwhile I had yet to find a serious boyfriend.

But what I didn't know then, what I couldn't know, is that my dream guy was four and a half years younger than me. A month or so after I graduated from BYU, Trevor graduated from high school. We couldn't be together yet then. God knew that, and so He tried to counsel me to be patient and wait for the right guy and the right time.

I didn't understand. I was so impatient. Over and over I prayed to know what I could do to find my husband. I promised that I would do anything. Most of the time the answer I got back was, "Really? Anything?" "YES! Anything!" "Then... keep waiting!" AHHHH! I hated that answer so much.

All along though, God had a plan for me. He knows the end from the beginning. He knew that Trevor and I would meet one day and have our happily ever after, but it wasn't the right time just yet. Trevor had a mission to serve, and then a couple of degrees to finish. Trevor's aerospace program was pretty grueling. He didn't have much time to date while he was studying.

Within a week of him graduating, we were dating. The time was finally right. And he was worth every second of anxious waiting. I love him so much, and I'm so grateful that we are together.

I know there are many more challenges in life ahead. I'm hoping that I can remember this lesson--trust God's timing over my own. His plans are greater than ours, and He wants what is best for us. We have to trust that His vision is greater than our own.

What Happens at a Mormon Wedding?

My husband and I were married in the Salt Lake City temple. Weddings in our faith (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints--most people call us the Mormon church) usually take place in a temple, and only faithful members of our church attend. So there are a lot of questions out there about what our weddings are really like and what we are doing inside the temple.

Our wedding ceremonies are simple. They take place in what we call "sealing rooms" (below is a pic of a sealing room in another temple).

Guests are seated prior to the marriage. The bride and groom come in together and sit together on a small couch on one end of the room. The sealer (the man who officiates over the wedding ceremony) speaks to the couple for a few minutes--he will often share advice about marriage and remind the couple of the sacredness of the covenants that they will be making.

Then he calls the couple up to the altar in the middle of the room. The groom escorts his bride to the altar, and the couple kneel across from each other as they are married. The ceremony is simple, sweet, and sacred.  The couple promise God that they will honor and love each other completely, and that they will follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Once the sealing is complete, the bride and groom kiss across the altar, and if they want to, they exchange rings. Some couples opt to exchange rings outside of the temple instead. Either way is fine since the ring exchange is not part of the temple sealing. We chose to exchange our rings in the sealing room.

Sealing rooms have mirrors hanging on the walls on either side of the altar.

One way that our weddings are unique is that we are not married until death do us part. We are married for "time and all eternity"--in other words, for the rest of our lives, and forever and forever in heaven after death. We consider our temple marriages to be eternal. These mirrors symbolize that eternal connection. Since they face each other, their reflections bounce off each other. When you stand together and look into the mirrors, you see your reflections repeating endlessly (see the pic above) into eternity. For me it was a powerful moment to look into those mirrors with Trevor after we were sealed.

After that, the bride and groom usually stand at the front of the room, and as the guests leave, each one has a chance to congratulate them personally (and usually to hug them too). They go outside to wait for the happy couple to emerge from the temple for further celebrations.

In the temple, we dress all in white. This symbolizes purity and that we are all equal before God. Because of this, grooms don't wear their tuxes for the sealing ceremony. It's up to women whether or not they want to wear their wedding dress, but if they do, it needs to be truly white--not ivory or off-white, and it needs to have long sleeves (I've heard that many temples have sleeve insets they can loan you if you have short sleeves). I decided to be married in my temple dress instead of my wedding dress, mostly because I'm a romantic I guess. I knew I'd only wear my wedding dress a couple times in my life, but I'd wear my temple dress often, and I thought it would make my temple dress more special to me if I wore it during my marriage ceremony.

All of that is to say, the happy couple don't emerge immediately from the temple. I changed into my wedding dress and fixed up my hair a bit. Trevor changed into his tux. When we were ready, we came out to greet our friends and family. That's when wedding pictures start in our faith--the moment the newlyweds exit the temple. As they come out, their friends and family are there to cheer and celebrate their new marriage.

Everyone waiting for us outside

You may have noticed that there is no aisle in the sealing room. There is no processional at the start of the service. Sometimes people will still designate bridesmaids and groomsmen, flower girls and ring bearers. But they don't participate in the wedding ceremony. Their main role (at least in my opinion!) is to dress to match the wedding party and to look good in all the pictures. Sometimes they will stand in the receiving line at the wedding reception. But there isn't much for them to do--the title of bridesmaid or groomsman is really just symbolic more than anything.

Since between the two of us, Trevor and I have 5 sisters, 2 brothers, 2 brothers-in-law, and a niece and nephew, we decided that our family would be our wedding party. :)

Missing from the pic--my sister-in-law Kimber.

Of course our parents dressed to match too. :)

Sealing rooms are often not very big, and so often only close friends and family are invited to the actual sealing ceremony. We were married in a sealing room that could only seat 45, and between our extended families, we had more than enough people to fill it up (although we did manage to get a few friends in there too! :).

So in our culture, most wedding guests are invited just to attend the wedding reception. When a bride and groom have families in separate states like Trevor and I, usually the groom's family will host an open house and the bride's family will have a reception, so people in both states can celebrate with us.

Our receptions and open houses are pretty laid back. The sealing is simple, and it is also the most important part of the wedding celebrations, since it is the actual wedding! Receptions and open houses are relatively simple too so as to not upstage the sealing. We kept ours really simple--basically just a chance for people to come say hello and congratulations, and grab a bite to eat while they were there. Some receptions are more elaborate. My sister Kristie had hers at a reception hall, so hers featured all the traditional dances--the first dance, the daddy daughter dance, whatever other dances there are. :) It's up to the bride and groom's taste of course, and I guess Trevor and I are just simple people. The biggest thing we did is cut our cake in front of everyone. We fed each other with forks and were sooooo careful not get cake on our clothes. We were teased a bit for not mashing it in each other's faces, but what can I say? That's not our style. :)

Recently our church released a great Youtube video that explains more about our wedding ceremonies. Here is it if you want to check it out:

I am grateful that through temple sealings, families can be together forever. I truly believe that families are central to God's plan for us in this life and in the life to come (heaven). I know that Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice opens the way for us to return to live with God and to be with our families eternally. I am so grateful for Him and His love for all of us. I bear testimony of Him in His holy name, Jesus Christ, amen.

Fasting From Social Media

Every April and October, our church holds a General Conference where we hear from our Prophet, apostles, and other church leaders.

This year, the Prophet extended a challenge:

1. Go on a 10 day social media fast (and fast from other media that is not uplifting),
2. Read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year, and mark each verse that speaks of the Savior.
3. Establish a pattern of regular temple attendance.
4. Participate fully in Relief Society.

At first I was reluctant to do a social media fast, for a couple reasons. In an effort to curb my all too real social media addiction, I had Trevor change all my passwords so I can only get on when he's around. That alone has cut back my social media use quite a bit. Also, the Prophet extended the social media challenge to the teenagers this summer (only 7 days instead of 10) and at the time my husband challenged me to see if I could go 2 weeks instead of just 1. So my first thought was, wait, I already did this. Do I need to do it again?

But.... what came to my mind is the story of Naaman--he was sick with leprosy and came to Elisha to heal him. Elisha actually didn't even come to talk to him--his servant did. His servant told Naaman that he would be healed if he washed in the river Jordan 7 times, Naaman was a bit insulted. That seemed ridiculous to him I guess--he'd expected a big dramatic healing, and he certainly thought the . In his words (2 Kings 5):

"11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?"

I'd like to think I would do something big if President Nelson asked it. Pick everything up and move to Missouri? Join Zion's Camp? Live the Law of Consecration? I hope that I would do it.

It hit me that if I want to follow the prophet in the big things, I need to follow him in the little things too. This was a small thing that he asked for--a simple thing. I needed to act on it.

And it has blessed my life! In additional to social media, we were challenged to give up other media that is not uplifting. During conference, I was prompted that I needed to give up certain news sites and advice columns and general time wasting websites that I've been spending a lot of time on, things that have filled my internet time since I cut back on social media.

I hadn't realized how much those things were cluttering up my mind. Without stressing about the news going on every day, I could focus more on my life and my husband and the things that matter most. Without spending so much time on time sucking websites, I had more time to do other things. I read my scriptures more (okay, some of that was the Book of Mormon challenge), I did some family history, I spent more time on uplifting meaningful things and I felt closer to my Savior and my Heavenly Father.

It was a successful experiment! Trevor is hopeful that I'll give up social media altogether like he has. I'm not ready for that yet, but I think I need to continue to cut back--not just on social media but on the internet in general. There's more to life!

Memories

My grandmother wanted a representative from each family to speak at her funeral, so ultimately 3 grandchildren ended up speaking. I volunteered to speak for my family since I am the oldest... we are by default the tribute children.

Here's what I shared:

               I thought long and hard about what memories to share today about my grandma. It’s hard to pick because I have so many!

               My grandma always made me feel very loved. She was always happy to see me or hear from me. I knew I could tell her anything—she would patiently listen to my childish flights of fancy, and later to my dating woes or school stresses. My family lives in Colorado so we were farther away than the other grandchildren, but somehow Grandma always stayed in the loop on our lives. Whenever I talked to her she’d know exactly what was going on in my life and she’d ask about specific details of my latest adventures and struggles. I knew she cared about me because she remembered all the little details of my life.

               She was always patient with me, no matter what. I can’t remember her ever being mad or impatient with me. I remember when we came out to visit as kids, my sister and I would sleep in the room across from my grandparents’. We would often stay up late talking and giggling, but Grandma never complained or shushed us. She told us she was happy we were enjoying our sister time.

Grandma was selfless and she would bend over backwards to serve those around her. When I grew up, I moved out to Provo to go to school at BYU. My sophomore year I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment. I didn’t have a car, and neither did any of my roommates. I didn’t have a good way to go grocery shopping. Grandma and Grandpa came every week that first semester to take me to the grocery store. It was a big sacrifice of time—I think it was at least an hour round trip—but they did it to take care of me. Figuring out what groceries I needed was a learning curve—I was so slow at first! But they were always patient with me and never made me feel rushed, and they were always willing to give advice. Afterwards they would always treat me to Burger King, and where they would listen to all my stories of life at the Y. Their service made me feel so loved. When Christmas came, they drove me all the way to the airport, even with snowstorms pending.

One of my favorite memories of my time with my grandma happened last year in February. I flew out to Utah for one of my friend’s weddings, and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. That weekend Grandma and I spent a lot of quality time together, going out to eat, talking about life. I was happy that my friend was getting married, but I was also sad and worried that I was still single at 29. Grandma and I had some heart to heart discussions about how she still had hope that I would find someone. She was so encouraging…. Back then I told her I was going to give up on men and go buy a house and a dog. She always told me that I could have all 3. In the end, she was right! One of the last things she said to me was, “You did! You got your husband, your house, and your dog!”

When I got married last year, she was too sick to come to the wedding, but I was able to stop by her house and model my wedding dress for her. I felt her support and love that day even though she wasn’t physically with me.

When we got the news a couple weeks ago that Grandma was going into hospice, I hopped a plane the next day so I could come say goodbye. I think all of her kids and grandkids came to see her that day. My siblings and I got to visit with her for a few minutes. We started to leave her so she could get some rest, but she called us back so she could share some spiritual experiences she had in her life concerning death. She bore her testimony to us that there is life after death, and she promised us she would be okay after she was gone. That was so comforting to me, and it’s something I’ve thought about often since. She was the one dying, but she comforted us.

I love my grandma so much! I will miss her. But I am so grateful to know that families are forever, and I know that I will see her again. I look forward to that day.

Driving

You ever heard this expression? It's been on my mind a lot lately, as I try to figure out my next steps in life. The basic idea is... God guides you when you actively move forward. Sometimes the future can be overwhelming and people get stuck, parking their car as it were, and waiting to move until God tells them where to go. But it's usually better to  move ahead as best you can, and as you do so, God answers your prayers and steers you in the direction you need to go. If you try to go the wrong way, He stops you (if you listen to Him)!

I pray about things a lot, but sometimes I wonder... Am I doing my homework enough to really figure things out? I think of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 9:7-9: "7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

 8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

 9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong..."

Last night, out of the blue, it hit me that I have been driving my car, so to speak. I've been making decisions and moving forward, even though I'm not sure yet if I'm moving forward in the right direction. I'll be honest, I've hit some dead ends lately. But that's okay--at least I know some things I'm not supposed to be doing right now!

As long as I'm trying, as long as I'm moving and praying and doing my best, I know God can guide me to do the things I need to do. As long as I'm driving, He can steer, and things will turn out all right in the end.

Jason's Off to Mexico!

Yesterday we dropped Jason off at the airport to leave for his mission in Mexico.

He will be gone for two years. For the first 6 weeks, he'll study at a Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Mexico City, learning the Spanish language. That may seem like a short time... but our MTCs are renowned for teaching languages really quickly! The US government has sent people to the Provo MTC before to study the phenomena--but the trick isn't to copy our methods, it's to be doing the Lord's work so He will grant the gift of tongues for the missionaries to learn quickly.

After that, Jason is going to the Mexico Guadalajara mission. While he's there, he can only communicate with us through letters and emails--and he only has one day a week where he can take a break from his work to write us (Mondays). He does get to call home for half an hour on Christmas and Mother's Day, so we'll get to talk to him a few times.

I already miss him like crazy, but I'm proud of him for going and I know he's doing the right thing. He will be a great missionary!

Tender Mercy

I believe in modern revelation. I believe that God still speaks to His children. I have felt Him speak to me many times.

But sometimes... when I really want something, or when a lot of emotions are attached... it's hard for me to know if what I'm feeling is coming from God or from my own thoughts.

Last night I was pondering the question, "How can I tell if this is an answer to my prayer, or my own thoughts?"

This morning I logged onto Facebook, and the first thing at the top of my news feed was the video below. The caption was "Have you ever asked yourself, 'Was that an answer to my prayer or just my own thoughts?'" :) A definite tender mercy. Thanks, Melissa, for posting that video!

Peace on Earth

Well, so far this holiday season hasn't shaped up to be quite what I expected, but it's been a good one! :) I think, when I came back from Thanksgiving, I had dreams of lazy evenings watching ABC Family Christmas movies, like when I was a kid. That hasn't quite happened. Most nights I'm busy with my calling or with my PREP instructor training or catching up on housekeeping tasks.

But life has been good. This last weekend especially! Melissa and I went to see BYU's annual Christmas Around the World. It's the Folk Dance team's annual show. It was beautiful! I'm so impressed by all the talented dancers at BYU... wish I could move like that! Seeing all the different cultures represented really makes me want to travel the world... although I suspect folk dance is a dying art in most places. Guys, our ancestors really knew how to groove! Why have we let that slip away??

Then, on Sunday night, Shauna and I headed up to Salt Lake for the Church's First Presidency Christmas Devotional... along with half our ward. :) My Relief Society president found out you can get tickets for free, without having to participate in a lottery or anything (like for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert). So she let us know, and everyone scrambled to get tickets. We must have gotten them around the same time, because most of us sat together in the same section. I will admit to being a bit hyper and excited to be there... I had a lot of fun goofing around with my friends beforehand.

And then of course the Devotional itself was amazing! The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang like angels. My favorite talk was by Elder Nelson. His message was about finding peace through the Prince of Peace, the Savior.

So... things have been a little more hectic than I anticipated, but it's still been a great month so far! Here's to keeping that up! :)

Timing

Two years ago, I was pretty sure I was going to be called as a Sunday School teacher.

Before graduate school, that calling would have terrified me. I was shy, and standing in front of a room teaching each week seemed like the most daunting thing ever. But this was a year into graduate school, and something had changed. I was surprised to discover I wasn't scared of teaching anymore. When I started feeling like I would be called as a Sunday School teacher... I wasn't afraid.

Because of these feelings, I wasn't surprised when the Sunday School President pulled me aside at ward prayer and asked me to substitute teach. "This is it," I thought, "This is the first of many lessons." My lesson actually went much, much better than I expected. I actually enjoyed it.

And then... when we received our callings, I was called as the Family History Consultant. This was a bit of a surprise, but I wasn't concerned. I figured I had just misunderstood what the Spirit was trying to tell me.

Fast forward to winter semester. The Sunday School president facebooks me to see if I will be staying for spring/summer. They are going to start a family history Sunday School class, and they are wondering if I will be available to be a teacher.

I won't be. I'm graduating and moving back home in April. But I submit the name of another girl, a family history major who I know would be an excellent teacher.

Life gets crazy busy as graduation approaches. I slave away on my thesis until the day comes for my defense.

I am TERRIFIED. But it actually goes quite well, and I pass my defense.

I walk home, on a high from the experience. I walk through the door of my apartment.

My phone buzzes.

It's a message from the Sunday School president. They've decided to have the class now after all. Would I be willing to teach it?

_____________________________________________

This experience was to me, a powerful testament of the Lord's timing in our lives. Months in advance, I knew the call that was coming. But it didn't come until the exact moment (literally!) that I had time in my life to do it, without being too stressed because of the rigors of graduate school.

In life, God's timing isn't always so easy to understand... But we need to trust that He knows us and He loves us. He always answers our prayers... in the best time for us. That can be outside our mortal comprehension for now, but when we look back someday, we will see that it is all for our best good. He knows what we need and when we need it far better than we do.

So... when I get impatient in life, I try to remember this experience. God's timing is the best timing. Our patience will be rewarded.

Fun Times in SLC

I went back home for the week of the fourth of July, and then I caught a ride back with my family on July 6. My mom and sisters came out to spend a week with my mom's family in Alpine. I stayed at my Grandma's house with them mostly and did my work from there. Love the flexibility of telecommuting!

And.... I love my family. I have officially spent half of my summer with them and half on my own in Provo. At the start of the summer, my dad joked that I could do that if I wanted... Guess I couldn't resist! This way I've had the best of both worlds... It's been a great summer. :)

On Thursday night, we headed up to SLC. We shopped at the City Creek Center and then we hit up Temple Square! We even toured the Beehive House (Brigham Young's house) for the first time since I was a kid. We had a blast. I have got to get up to SLC more often.

We also took a minute to stop by the Salt Lake cemetery to visit our Granddaddy's grave. He passed away two years ago and we really miss him. We had a hard time finding the grave at first. We drove around with the vague idea that it was at towards the top of the cemetery (it's on a hill). We weren't sure exactly where it was, but we just happened to park within sight of it. I don't think that was a coincidence.

I wasn't sure what face to make for this picture... But Kristie (my sister) said we should smile because we love Granddaddy. I am grateful to know that families can be together forever. I look forward to seeing him again someday.

Be Strong and Of A Good Courage

Tonight at Institute, we learned about the book of Joshua. The teacher highlighted one scripture in particular. In fact, she had one of her old EFY buddies bring his guitar and teach us a melody to sing it too (thanks teacher and guitar guy! That's the easiest way for me to memorize scriptures).

The scripture is Joshua 1:9. The Lord is speaking to Joshua shortly after he has become the Prophet. He was probably feeling intimidated trying to fill Moses' shoes. The Lord says: "'Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD they God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Those words really resonated with me. I have been afraid as I've looked ahead to the future, when I need to be strong and of a good courage. One student made a comment tonight that also struck me hard. She pointed out that when the Israelites were fleeing the Egyptians, they had to go all the way to the borders of the Red Sea, not knowing beforehand what was going to happen to them. As far as they could see, it was physically impossible to escape from the Egyptians at their heels. But then, God performed a miracle. He provided a way for them that they could cross on dry ground.

I keep saying that I feel like everything is going to be okay, but when I look ahead, I can't see how. That comment hit me more than ever that it doesn't matter that I can't see how things will work out... They still will. God performed a miracle to save the Israelites. He can certainly open the way for me to get to where I need to be in this world.

The Institute teacher also briefly mentioned a BYU devotional Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (now an Apostle) gave back in 1980. It's beautiful. If you're ever feeling a little discouraged, give it a read.

Words

I have always loved words.


I decided when I was three years old that I wanted to be a writer. I knew that only grown-up people could be writers though, so I was going to have to wait until I grew up. I waited and waited all day long, and by the time my father got home from work, I couldn't stand it anymore. I didn't even know how to write my name yet, but I dictated my very first book to my mom that evening. It was about Barkley from Sesame Street. I drew pictures to illustrate it. Since Barkley was too hard for me to draw, I always made him a tiny little dot in the distance.


My love language is called words of affirmation. For those not familiar with the concept of Love Languages, it is basically the idea that we each have a particular favorite way in which to receive love. For some, they feel most loved when they receive a gift, or when a loved one spends quality time with them. Some feel most loved through service, others through touch. And then there are those like me who benefit most from words. Oh, I can feel love through the other love languages, but for me there is nothing more powerful than being told "I love you." I would choose a heartfelt note over a gift any day. Words are life to me. Kind words are never forgotten, and harsh words crush me more than most.


I've noticed that words play a powerful role in how God speaks to me, as well. Of course He knows my love language. :) We all know that reading the scriptures brings us closer to God, but I find that I often feel His love in words of truth I stumble across in fiction books or in song lyrics. When I am upset, I find that He often brings words from literature or music into my mind, to bring me the comfort that I need.


Words are power. One of the apostles in my Church, Elder M. Russell Ballard, has said that "There is truth in the old adage that 'the pen is mightier than the sword.' In many cases, it is with words that you will accomplish the great things that you will now set out to do."I think that this is true for all of us. 

Nostalgia

Today I am suffering from a particularly strong case of nostalgia (dang, that is a hard word to spell!). I am missing a time not so long ago. Logically I can look back and remember that it was not perfect. There were still many challenges to be faced, and even the best parts of life came with difficulties too. Emotionally, though, looking back at that time I feel as though it was perfect in a way that can never be beat. I am longing to go back and relive that time. But I know that if I did, it wouldn't be as wonderful as I remember, and anyway, going backwards is impossible. I'm reminded of a devotional Elder Holland gave at BYU a couple years back called "Remember Lot's Wife." One of my facebook friends reposted it recently and it was really good for me to read it again. One quote in particular stood out to me:

"Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ is the 'high priest of good things to come.' I pray you will have a wonderful semester, a wonderful year, a wonderful life all filled with faith and hope and charity. Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant, and live to see
the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, trust and divine love
transform your life today, tomorrow and forever."

I know I need to keep going and trust that my best days are still ahead. Life gets better as it goes along, doesn't it? It can, at least, if we choose to perceive it that way.

But for today, I think, I will let myself dwell on the past a little bit. Maybe remembering some of the good times I've had will help me build better times in the future.

Granddaddy

My grandfather passed away this evening at 7 p.m. My father was with him at the time. He says that Granddaddy went peacefully.

Of course I am sad and I will miss him a lot, but I also feel very at peace. I know that everything is going to be okay. I know that he is happy where he is now. He isn't really gone, just in a different place. I know he still loves us and he doesn't want us to be sad. That is a very powerful feeling right now that I can't seem to shake, and I know it comes from a heavenly source.

Still, our family would appreciate your continued prayers at this time. Thank you so much! I know that many of you have been praying for us and I know that it's helped us a lot.

I love my Granddaddy very much! I am grateful to know that we are part of a forever family, and we will be together again someday.