Reflecting on the Important Things
This past week has given me cause to pause and reflect my life. On Friday I received a phone call from Burke who was working up on the farm in Parowan. Having never heard Burke cry in our entire marriage I felt panic rising as soon as he started speaking. He informed me that his cousin Holly's husband, Shane, had just passed away. Shane and Holly were a darling couple living in D.C. with their sweet year and a half old baby, Preston. Apparently Holly and Shane were running a relay of the marathon that day and after Holly passed the baton to Shane and he disappeared up the next hill, he must have had a heart failure and rolled off the road, down a hill where other runners would not have seen him. It took them several hours to find his body, but the autopsy (which shows no conclusive evidence as to the cause) confirmed he must have died instantly.
The entire Adams family has been grieving the past several days; for Holly who has lost her wonderful husband, for Preston who will never know his Daddy and for all those who have known and loved Shane. It doesn't make sense why this righteous and good young man was taken at the prime of his life, but it testifies of our Heavenly Father's plan for us. Everything we experience in life is according to His plan and His timing. I have been so impressed by the faith and optimism of Holly and the family to give thinks for the time she did have with her husband and to acknowledge that they are an eternal family sealed together forever in the temple. She has testified that she knows they will be together again.
This sad event has made me ponder on the things that I value. That night when Burke arrived home covered in dust and the sweat of honest labor, we held each other for a long time. Every petty concern we have had weighing on us seemed to disappear in that instant. It doesn't matter that my sweetheart is still job searching, that we are down to one car or that I still can't cook a meal without burning something. What matters is that I have been sealed to my husband for eternity and that even if one of us were called Home tomorrow, we can still be together forever. I felt a strong reminder of the importance of living in the present - enjoying the time that we have now, for we never know when it will pass.
Just a few weeks ago when he was worried that the job search was stressing me out, my wise father-in-law said to me, "Emma-lah, you may very well be experiencing the happiest days of your life - love every minute of it." I intend to do just that.
The entire Adams family has been grieving the past several days; for Holly who has lost her wonderful husband, for Preston who will never know his Daddy and for all those who have known and loved Shane. It doesn't make sense why this righteous and good young man was taken at the prime of his life, but it testifies of our Heavenly Father's plan for us. Everything we experience in life is according to His plan and His timing. I have been so impressed by the faith and optimism of Holly and the family to give thinks for the time she did have with her husband and to acknowledge that they are an eternal family sealed together forever in the temple. She has testified that she knows they will be together again.
This sad event has made me ponder on the things that I value. That night when Burke arrived home covered in dust and the sweat of honest labor, we held each other for a long time. Every petty concern we have had weighing on us seemed to disappear in that instant. It doesn't matter that my sweetheart is still job searching, that we are down to one car or that I still can't cook a meal without burning something. What matters is that I have been sealed to my husband for eternity and that even if one of us were called Home tomorrow, we can still be together forever. I felt a strong reminder of the importance of living in the present - enjoying the time that we have now, for we never know when it will pass.
Just a few weeks ago when he was worried that the job search was stressing me out, my wise father-in-law said to me, "Emma-lah, you may very well be experiencing the happiest days of your life - love every minute of it." I intend to do just that.
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