Jesus Wept

(I wrote this on Monday, but I felt like I should wait to post it. So I'm posting it now instead)



Today has been harder than most.
There has been so much going through my mind.
So much I've wanted to say, to somehow express my feelings about the tragic death of a dear friend of mine and my family's.
I can't stop thinking about his mother and I am praying that she is being blessed with the comfort she needs.
I could talk about how he was a wonderful person, how we all thought he was headed for great things, how he's in a better place.
But we all know that.
We all feel the loss of such an incredible person.

There seems to be so much sadness right now, I can't even tell you how many stories I've seen lately about babies lost, or missionaries passing.
The Lord seems to be calling so many angels home.
As I've been thinking about all of these things, I keep thinking about the end of the movie Charlie when Sam is talking about how Jesus wept when he came to Mary and Martha after their brother Lazarus had died. It has been a long time since I saw the movie but, as I remember he points out the significance of the fact that Christ knew that it was going to be ok, that it was going to turn out alright. But he took that moment to cry with the grieving sisters, to comfort them when they needed it.
He knew they had knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. He knew that they had faith in it, that they knew they would see their beloved brother again. Yet he didn't scold them for crying and being sad.
Instead he wept with them.

It's ok to be sad. It's ok to mourn the loss of someone so close to us.
When these things happen we tend to hear so much about how we shouldn't be sad. How that person wouldn't want us to be. We almost start to feel guilty about feeling, keenly, our loss. But I think the Lord and our loved ones know that we need to mourn, we need to weep sometimes. Yes, it's ultimately going to be ok. Yes, this is when the incredible Plan of Salvation should be a comfort to us. This is the time when we can really experience and appreciate the atonement and its ability to heal some of the deepest wounds.
Those are important things.
But it's also important to allow time to grieve.

Sometimes our strongest moments are born from the tears we have shed and the sorrows we have felt.

I hope to raise strong children and I hope that I also raise them to understand that it is ok to be sad, it is ok to cry, it is ok to mourn. Because, to me, that is also strength.

There is so much that I would like to say about my friend. Right now, it's hard to find the words.
So instead I'll just say that I hope we all continue to keep Peter and his mom in our prayers and be sensitive to the family's needs and requests at this time.

A quote and a song keep coming to mind when I think about Peter passing. The quote is by Jeffrey R. Holland from my favorite talk. The talk is titled "For Times of Trouble" and it has been a great help and support to me for many many years. The quote goes:

"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike - and they will - you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed."
The song is Nearer My God to Thee. It became one of my favorite hymns when I was on my mission. But I keep thinking about the last verse. It goes:

"Or if, on joyful wing
Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upward I fly,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer my God, to thee,
Nearer my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!"
I hope you all know that I know the gospel is true. That we have a loving Heavenly Father. That I believe, firmly, in the blessings of the temple.
And I am so grateful for that knowledge.
My thoughts and prayers are with all of those I know who have recently sent angels to be with their Heavenly Father. I hope the knowledge that they are now part of those armies of heaven and that they are now nearer to Him is some comfort in such difficult times.

Less Than Three,
Sarah

For more information about the Plan of Salvation, go here
http://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/36950_eng.pdf?lang=eng

For the talk by Jeffrey R. Holand, go here
http://www.lds.org/new-era/1980/10/for-times-of-trouble?lang=eng

And to listen to a great version of Nearer My God to Thee, go here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKsr49csFYk