I have a family here on Earth...

How thankful I am for the knowledge of Eternal Families.

And how grateful I am for....

 

 

Temples.

They make it possible to have an eternal family.

One of my favorite Primary Songs is: I have a family here on Earth.

(I'm pretty sure everything we ever need to know was taught to us in Primary.)

I have a family here on Earth.

They are so good to me.

I want to share my life with them,

through all eternity.

Families can be together forever.

Through Heavenly Father's Plan.

I always want to be with my own family.

And the Lord has shown me how I can.

The Lord has shown me how I can.

While I am in my early years,

I'll prepare most carefully.

So I can marry in God's temple,

for eternity.

Families can be together forever.

Through Heavenly Father's Plan.

I always want to be with my own family.

And the Lord has shown me how I can.

The Lord has shown me how I can.

As things have happened through the last few days.. weeks.. and months.. I have really come to realize how truly grateful I am for Heavenly Father's Plan. Each of us has a specific purpose in this life. A reason we are here. A reason why we've been placed in our specific families. And a reason we are who we are.

All of us have different situations. Whether they are good or bad. All of us have different trials. Our goal is to learn what we can. Become the best version of ourselves we can. And return to our Father in Heaven. This will never be an easy task. All that is asked of us is to do our best.

We don't always understand the trials we are given. We don't always know why bad things happen to good people. Why the ones we love are always taken way too soon. And we don't always know how to get through our hard times.

We must remember that our Heavenly Father is always. ALWAYS. ALWAYS. here for us. He is always here to comfort us. He is always here to listen to us. He is always here to guide us in the right direction. He is always here to help pick us up when we feel like there is no more go left in us. He is always here. He loves us. More than anyone else ever could. But... We must let Him in.

It has been a rough week. When it rains it pours, right? Our family friend, Blaine, is still battling cancer, with daily radiation treatments and chemotherapy. We had another dear friend, Susan Hunter, go in for pretty intense heart surgery recently. We attended a funeral for an amazing guy in my parents' ward who was way to young to go. And this past weekend we found out my cousin's little 2 month old baby is terminal, with SMA. Given anywhere from a day to 8 months left.

We are constantly looking for the sunshine under this cloud of gray. It has been hard. And a lot of prayers are coming from this house. We know our Father in Heaven is looking over us. And we are all sooo grateful to be LDS and have the full knowledge of the gospel.

I am so grateful for MY eternal family. For how close we are. Not only how close my immediate family is, but how close I am to my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am also extremely grateful for all of my friends who are constantly here, looking out for me, checking up on me, listening to me, and being a shoulder to cry on. You are amazing! And I know I could never get through any of this without any of you. Thanks for being you, for being my distractions when I need them the most, and mostly for letting me fall apart. I love you all.

And finally.. I am going to leave you with one of my favorite poems.

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."

  -Mary Stevenson
(you can find the original poem here... http://www.footprints-inthe-sand.com/index.php?page=Poem/Poem.php )