This is my little great-grandma, June Rockwell. She passed away a few weeks ago and I was lucky enough to travel to her funeral. Her funeral was a wonderful occasion for my family because it brought so many of us together that rarely get to see one another. It was so much fun and we all had a great time reminiscing our sweet grandmother.
Why were we able to be so happy at such a sad time?
Death does not have to be a sad thing. On the contrary, I was very happy for my grandmother when I heard she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. She was 91 years old and her husband died 5 years ago. She has missed him terribly but still was a spunky woman full of life. However, her health declined rapidly these past few months and I was grateful that she was finally able to be reunited with her spouse and her daughter (my grandma, who passed on when I was 6) after living such a fulfilling and long life. I am going to miss her, but am grateful that she no longer suffering physically.
Death is not the end!
God has a plan for us. We are not alone. He loves you, and He loves me. He wants us to return to live with him again. Yes, RETURN. We lived with God before we came to this Earth. God created this Earth for us to come and gain experience for ourselves so we can become like Him. He wants us to have bodies and to rely on Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. We must have faith and keep the commandments. We must follow the Savior's example and strive to be more like him. We all will have to die physically for a time, but our spirits live on! My grandma is very much alive and is happy that she is able to be with her family. We will miss her here for a time, but we too will be united with her and all our loved ones again. Because of Jesus Christ, we will get our bodies back and we will have the opportunity to live with Him if we accept Him and do His will. Check out this awesome video that explains in more detail why death doesn't have to be a sad thing!I want to share with you the legacy that my grandmother left behind. My grandma had an amazing life full of refining moments and experiences that have caused her to be the strong woman that she is. I could spend hours rehearsing stories about her life, but I want to focus on the one thing that I've always admired about my grandma. That is her love, and more specifically, her marriage. My great-grandparents lived far enough away that we only saw them once or maybe twice a year, if that. However, every time my family visited, I could feel the love that they had for us.
As I grew older, I started to recognize the great love that my grandparents shared as well. This awareness grew even more after my great-grandpa died five years ago. I wish I could relay to you the feelings that I felt whenever my grandmother talked about their love and stories from their life. My grandmother had dementia that just got worse and worse every time I saw her, so she often told the same stories again and again. However, I never got tired of them, especially the ones about grandpa. She had so much emotion and love for him every time she talked about him. She could NOT wait to be with him again. I have always wanted a marriage and a love like theirs. I have kept that with me for years and it has always been the goal of mine. Because of Jesus Christ, and promises she made to God and her husband when they were married, she knew she would see him again. 62 years of marriage was not broken, even by death.
I was lucky enough to find the man of my dreams, much like my grandma did. My grandma was able to travel to our wedding, which I am so grateful for! Even though her dementia had gotten so bad that she often didn't know who I was, I was so grateful that she was able to be there for that special moment as I was able to follow in her foot steps. I hope to continue to grow in my marriage and have a love as strong as theirs.
Because of Him
I am so grateful for my grandma's example and her testimony and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Even when she forgot so many things for the past few years, she never ever forgot who made all things possible. She never forgot her sweet husband or the knowledge that she would be with him again. She never forgot she was a daughter of God. The mind may forget, but the spirit never does.
(Feel free to comment below on things you have learned from your grandparents!)
