Life After Death

I just came across this video and realized how thankful I am that I have the gospel in my life! I am amazed when I think how hard this would be if we had no idea that we could see David again! That would be TERRIBLE!!!, ( even though it already is terrible it would be like 10 times worse!!!!) Anyway here is the video:

Those Years When We Were Young

Inspired in Part by Gavin Degraw song - Not Over You

I recently dragged myself out of the deepest,

Darkest hole I could have ever imagined. 

It was painful and scary, but finally I reached the top.

The light and air I found was rejuvenating. 

I never want to find myself in that dark place again,

But good healing requires reflection. 

I now return to the edge of the abyss,

Looking over the edge to recall just how I climbed out. 

All the time nervous, that if I get to close, I might slip and fall in. 

Not wanting to risk it, I have avoided the edge as long as possible…

If you ask me, how I’m doing,

I would say I’m doing just fine. 

I would lie and say that you’re not on my mind.

If we had a chance to visit, just one last time,

I’d tell you thanks for being a great brother. 

That I will be forever better because of you. 

And I would tell you, that I’m sorry, for being gone so long. 

There was so much we could have

And should have shared with each other.

I would tell you, that I’ll care for your family as my own. 

But we both know I can never replace you.

I can hear you telling me to live my life,

To the fullest with my own kids. 

Fill their minds with memories of their own dad,

Which they can never forget.

If you ask me, how I’m doing,

I would say I’m doing just fine. 

I would lie and say that you’re not on my mind.

I would tell you how proud I was,

To show you my pinewood derby car last year. 

And how I designed it all myself. 

That silly car means the world to me now,

Because it was the last thing we talked about. 

And it is so you!

If you ask me, how I’m doing,

I would say I’m doing just fine. 

I would lie and say that you’re not on my mind.

I would ask you, to watch over me,

And my family when you go. 

I always wonder if you are there, watching and caring.

I know you have been close,

Proud of me despite my human weakness. 

If I could just have your perspective,

Than this would be so much easier!

I would ask, that when you reach your final destination,

Take a small break from your busy celestial schedule,

And find a quiet place.  

So when I catch up to you, we can sit, laugh and cry,

About those precious few years we had together on earth. 

Those years when we were young. 

When Legos and tree forts were pressing matters. 

When we used to sleep on the trampoline and marvel about the stars. 

But most of all, I will want to hear your story. 

Where you went and what you’ve been doing. 

If you ask me, how I’m doing,

I would say I’m doing just fine. 

I would lie and say that you’re not on my mind.

I would ask you to seek the answer,

To why you were taken in the prime of your life,

And the meridian of mine. 
There must be an answer, which only you can find.

And those of us left behind must believe.

Over You

He is Risen

Happy Easter!  I have always loved Easter and the special spirit it brings as we remember the atonement, death and most importantly the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.  I know that this year, thoughts of the resurrection bring more hope to all of us as we think about a happy reunion with our David someday.  I am so grateful to know that because Christ died and was resurrected for us, we shall all live again.  I know that our Savior made it possible for our family to be together forever.

From President Thomas S. Monson:

“Our Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been secured. The Fall of Adam had been reclaimed.

“The empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job’s question, ‘If a man die, shall he live again?’ To all within the sound of my voice, I declare, If a man die, he shall live again. We know, for we have the light of revealed truth. …

“My beloved brothers and sisters, in our hour of deepest sorrow, we can receive profound peace from the words of the angel that first Easter morning: ‘He is not here: for he is risen.’”^4''

“We laugh, we cry, we work, we play, we love, we live. And then we die. …

“And dead we would remain but for one Man and His mission, even Jesus of Nazareth. …

“With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live. Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is our Redeemer; He is our Mediator with the Father. He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins. He became the firstfruits of the Resurrection. Because He died, all shall live again.”⁵

Homesick

Laura and I were talking earlier today about how we have been yearning to skip this earthly life and skip right to the end. If heaven is such a wonderful place, then it stinks that we have to remain here in this "dreary wasteland". David and Grandma are the lucky ones! 

But of course, we remind ourselves that patients is the key. We tell ourselves to stay on the path and trust in the Lords plan. This is a wonderful world we live in and we are so blessed with our families. 

In reviewing a book I recently read, I came across a part that seemed to apply to what we had been discussing and I thought I'd share it here:

"Sometimes we feel far removed from our heavenly origins; the separation seems so great. At those times, we need to hear our Savior's voice and know His words. Every day, more than anything else, we need to continue to hear His voice through the scriptures.

If we hear His voice, then we can know, regardless of whatever dark chasms surround us, that we will not perish because He knows the way and has already traveled the path before us. When we hear His voice and remember the prints of the nails in His hands and feet and the mark of the spear in His side, we can know that, regardless of our many faults, we are redeemed by the sacrifice of His body and His blood. When we hear his voice, we remember that He died that we might live. We remember that at some future time we will see His face and bathe His feet with tears of gratitude. We will know Him then because we listen for Him now." (I Need Thee Every Hour, Applying the Atonement in Everyday Life, by David P. Vandagriff)

Do you sometimes feel so far from heavenly things - like a homesick child on their first sleepover? Feeling like the only thing that will give you the needed energy to go on is to hear the voice of your father again? If so, open your scriptures. The scriptures are where we will hear Him. He is calling to us, let us go the scriptures to hear Him again.