A few weeks ago, some dear friends of
mine passed their little 3 year-old boy into his Heavenly Father's arms after a battle with leukemia. I had heard something the week before indicating he was really not
doing well, and wondered if it might only be a matter of time. I still
wasn't prepared for it when I heard that he had passed, it wasn't a surprise, but
it still gave me some shock. Because my mom is the funeral
coordinator for the ward I was involved in getting ready for the
luncheon. I was busy enough that it didn't really sink in for the
first few days.
I never cry at funerals. I think I may
have forced tears at my great-grandmother's funeral, but I was still
kind of young. I didn't think that I would be crying at this one at
all and didn't have any Kleenex, which ended up being a mistake. I
was getting choked up during the opening hymn, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” (#136 in the LDS hymnbook), The message was just so beautiful. It is sad that he
did not get to live a long, full life. But it is such a blessing to
know that he will live again, and that his parents will have the
opportunity to raise him. I could also barely sing the closing hymn,
“Families Can Be Together Forever” (#300) It's sad that his sisters won't grow up with him, and I know that they miss
him, but it is a comfort to know that they can be with him eternally
after this life.
It is such a blessing to know that he
is no longer suffering, and has, as the hospice nurse quoted him as
saying, “no more owies.” That family will have a little angel
watching over them. His father miraculously was able to speak at the
funeral, and said that he believes that little children like that
volunteered to have a 'broken body' and go through all that
suffering, and are too pure to stay on the earth.
Honestly, that family is such a strength to me. I can't, and don't
want to, imagine what they must be going through right now. They are
carrying through with so much courage, and I know it is the Lord that
holds them up. The mother was telling a group I was in a story about
how she had to comfort someone she had told about her son. They know
that they have an eternal family, and that they will be able to raise
their son during the millennium. This is one of the many things that brings them strength.
It is quite interesting having this
happen during the Easter season. It has given me a real reason to rejoice in the reason for the holiday. I mean, it was still applicable before, but I can really see now how much comfort the message brings now. The miracle of the resurrection, and the hope for a better life in the hereafter. So many times when I have thought of the resurrection I have thought of this little boy and his family. The passing of a child really makes you wake up to an eternal perspective.
I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that because he lives this little boy, and everyone else, can live again. Death is not the end, it is merely a step in the process to Eternal Life. Families can be together forever. I know that God has plans for each of us. I know that He loves each and every one of us, and knows us by name. I know that He cares, and will give us those things that we need. I know that if we are faithful we can be like Him someday. I say these things in the name of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, amen.
