A Funeral
I attended a funeral for a young man from my ward today. He was 19. I never knew him very well, nor do I know his parents very well, but his younger sister was one of my Mia Maids when I served in the young women's program. Many of the speakers today mentioned his infectioius smile-and that is what I will remember about him.
The entire thing is heartbreaking. No parents should ever have to bury their child. I watched as his father stepped up and filled his role to preside and lead his family. I watched him take charge as needed, greet friends with a face of gratitude, shepherd his family into the chapel, and courageously speak of the goodness of his son, all while greaving the loss of his child.
I also watched his mother, literally wracked with sobs, as she mourned the loss of her son, who was once her baby. When I became a mother, I never imagined that my ability to empathize and grieve with another mother would be magnified so much. Even though I have not experienced anything that compares to the grief his mother feels, I can compare the love I have for my children to the love I know she feels for her children. Because of that, I think I can get a glimpse into the pain she must be feeling, and it breaks my heart.
I watched as his brother and sister shared memories from his life, many of them now more precious than anything else they have. I watched the sorrow in their expressions as they sang a hymn, with other family members, in his memory. I also watched an extended family become a little closer.
Throughout all this, I also watched the members of my ward pull together and serve this family. I came to appreciate even more the blessings that the Gospel of Jesus Christ bring, including temporal ward families. The Gospel brings peace and assurance of a life to come, of the chance to see your loved ones again, and to know that you are an eternal family. It gives the knoweldge of a loving Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ, whose Atonement has given all of us the chance to live in the presence of God again.
The death of this wonderful young man is not something that will affect my daily life, like it will his family. Things will go on for me as they always have, but I hope the things I learned today will always stay with me. Our prayers are with his family and I hope they can find peace through the Savior.
The entire thing is heartbreaking. No parents should ever have to bury their child. I watched as his father stepped up and filled his role to preside and lead his family. I watched him take charge as needed, greet friends with a face of gratitude, shepherd his family into the chapel, and courageously speak of the goodness of his son, all while greaving the loss of his child.
I also watched his mother, literally wracked with sobs, as she mourned the loss of her son, who was once her baby. When I became a mother, I never imagined that my ability to empathize and grieve with another mother would be magnified so much. Even though I have not experienced anything that compares to the grief his mother feels, I can compare the love I have for my children to the love I know she feels for her children. Because of that, I think I can get a glimpse into the pain she must be feeling, and it breaks my heart.
I watched as his brother and sister shared memories from his life, many of them now more precious than anything else they have. I watched the sorrow in their expressions as they sang a hymn, with other family members, in his memory. I also watched an extended family become a little closer.
Throughout all this, I also watched the members of my ward pull together and serve this family. I came to appreciate even more the blessings that the Gospel of Jesus Christ bring, including temporal ward families. The Gospel brings peace and assurance of a life to come, of the chance to see your loved ones again, and to know that you are an eternal family. It gives the knoweldge of a loving Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ, whose Atonement has given all of us the chance to live in the presence of God again.
The death of this wonderful young man is not something that will affect my daily life, like it will his family. Things will go on for me as they always have, but I hope the things I learned today will always stay with me. Our prayers are with his family and I hope they can find peace through the Savior.
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