Thoughts on Joshua

My heart has been aching for the past week. A precious boy returned to his Father in Heaven much too soon last week. I probably wouldn’t have ever met this boy in person even if he had lived his life out to an old age. My connection to him wasn’t very deep at all, he being the son of an old friend from a singles ward and his wife, the sister of a sister-in-law of one of my best friends. But this sweet child, regardless of how insignificant to my life he may have been, has managed to pierce my heart so powerfully this week. He only was able to live on this earth for just shy of one month. One month. How quickly and easily one month can go by in our lives without even a second thought. Yet for this boy, that’s all he got. That is all his mother and father got to get to know their son in this life. After nine months of carrying him in her belly, his mother only got one month to see the little hands and feet that once tugged and kicked insider of her. Every parent’s worst nightmare came true for this poor couple.

Thoughts of this poor family have been lingering on my mind ever since I heard the terrible news of the baby’s passing. So many emotions have clouded my mind as I’ve tried to work through such a terrible situation in my head. My feelings have definitely hopped around, stopping at angry, hopeless, dumbfounded, grateful for my healthy son and nervous for the son growing inside of me, but generally I’ve been lingering in the just plain sad state.

After a week of many tears and prayers, I’ve finally reached a point where I feel at peace, though I’m not going to lie and say that the sadness has fully subsided. Through reminding myself of a few simple truths that I know, I can let my sadness slowly fade as I look at the bigger picture. These are the things that I know:

-This family, though separated now, will be together again. They have been sealed together forever and have the promise that they will meet again and be able to spend eternity together.

-God has a plan for us. He created our spirits before we were born and they’ll continue into eternity. Our life on earth is fundamental to His plan, as is death. It’s always sad when God calls our loved ones home, but we can be certain that their spirits live on.

-It’s comforting to know that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, suffered all things. He understands our pain and can help us through our trials. When we have faith in God and His plan, we can be assured that there’s a purpose to all that happens to us here on earth. Our time here is short compared to our eternal life.

See more here: http://www.mormon.org/plan-of-happiness/

I am so grateful for these truths and the comfort that they have given me through all the various trials that I have gone through.