Feeling sorrow for those left behind...

Gems of Reflection, #46

To reflect upon how I feel about death is a tricky thing. I am not necessarily afraid of dying, for I have a firm testimony in The Plan of Salvation, and I know that when we leave this life, we will pass into the spirit world to await Judgment Day, and to await being reunited with our Heavenly Father again. I think the only thing I fear regarding death is how it will happen - and when. I don't want to pass from this life while my children are still young because I don't want to miss them growing up, and I want them to be able to remember me and to know what a blessing they are in my life.

One of my husband's cousins recently passed away unexpectedly, and she was about the same age as I am now. I didn't know her well, but I was absolutely heart-broken to know that in her untimely death, she had left behind a husband and four young children, all under the age of 12. I couldn't help but feel complete sorrow for her family that she was leaving behind - for her poor children who will miss their mother terribly - even though I know that she is being taken care of as she passes on from this world into the next. I also feel such incredible sorrow for her parents. I think losing a child at any age would be absolutely devastating. It's something that no parent should ever have to endure.

Still, throughout this experience, I couldn't help but feel gratitude for my own family, and for the ability that I still have to spend this time with them. I think it's experiences like these that make me so grateful to know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for us, to know that we are here on this earth for a time - to have a family, and to experience the trials of this life - but also to know that when we leave this world, we will be able to reunite with our loved ones, and will also be able to return to our Heavenly Father again.

I am grateful for the gospel in my life and for the knowledge I possess that families can be together forever. It is this knowledge that takes some of the fear of death out of the equation for me. I am not saying that it makes things easy, but when we lose our loved ones to death, we can be comforted by the knowledge that the separation is temporary, and that we will be together with them again.