Perspective

This past Sunday's lesson in YW was having an Eternal Perspective. We had a great talk with the girls and a wonderful object lesson that simply stated how different our lives are when we have that perspective. We know what we need to do in this life to get to the end. It's sort of like a map that is laid out for us to follow. Yesturday, I learned that my great Aunt had passed from a heart attack and that her husband, my great uncle had open heart surgery and had no idea that that very day he lost his soul mate. How in the world would you tell someone who has just come out of such a major surgery this horrible news?

I've lost many family members in the past few years. I have a large family on both sides but I've never been really close to them. Mainly because my mother never kept in touch with anyone when I was growing up and not having known my father for 14 years of my life their was a whole side of family I had never even met before. My great grandmother whom I was close to when I was younger but grew "to cool" for her when I got older passed away Dec. 2004. This is when I lost the first family member that I was "close" to. I still remember the day that I found out. It was a really bad snowy day and Dennis and I were at Nicoles house and my phone rang. It was my mother balling on the other end. My great gramma had a heart attack and the hospital couldn't do anything to save her. As I hung up the phone and sat on Nicoles bed completely covered in my tears I thought back to the last conversation I had with her just a few days before. I was rushing and I called to tell my grandma something and my great gramma had answered the phone. I said a quick hello to her and then asked to talk to my grandma, forgetting to day I love you to my great gramma. As I laid there crying I felt quilty. Quilty that I never took the time to tell my great gramma how much I loved her or called more than I should have to talk to her or take the time to listen to one of her stories. I vowed that from that day forward I would take the time for each one of my family members, to call more often, send letters more often and visit more than I had in the past. Since then, I have lost a few other family members. Not feeling any better about how distant our relationship was when they passed on. Although my life has been extremly busy that last few years, I still try to make those phone calls to aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins, even my own sisters and try to visit with them as much as I can because I don't want another time to come when I learn that one of them has passed on and I feel quilty because I didn't take the time to let them know how much I cared for and appreciated them.

That said, the following link is to a story that has developed in my area over the last 3 days. A young man who was taking the discussions and attending our youth activites was swimming in the Fox River on Sunday and is now missing. As I learned the news just this morning, my thoughts went back to our lesson on Sunday and to the thought of resentment I had for those family members that I had lost that I was not close to. My thoughts and prayers are with Robbie's family and I pray that he is o.k but I know that God has a plan and Robbie knows too.



http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1021046,2_1_AU24_RIVER_S1.article

THURSDAY UPDATE:
Robbie's body was found Wednesday 6.5 miles from where he went under. He was found at the Yorkville Dam which is where my 8th grade math teacher and his brother drowned 3 years ago when they were trying to save a canoer that went over the dam and got caught in the current. Last night at Mutual, our Bishop got up and talked to everyone about what had happened. As he talked about it, everyone got teary eyed and he held it together very nicely. He had some very nice things to say, including the fact that we got to know him and introduce him to the gospel. We know the plan of Salvation and we know that one day we will see Robbie again.