In spite of my tears, I feel peace

By Erin P.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year.  It is a time for us to focus on what is really important, and to give appreciation for all of the wonderful blessings we have.  But Thanksgiving is also a sad time for me.  Fifteen years ago, while I was visiting my siblings in California for Thanksgiving, my brother, Jon, died in a car accident.  He was delivering pizzas for his job, the roads were slick.  He went around a curve in the road and lost control of his car, swerving into oncoming traffic.  The doctors told us that he was dead before ever getting to the hospital.  

Although much of that day is a blur, there are certain images and feelings that are seared into my mind forever.  I remember getting the phone call telling us to go to the hospital as soon as possible.  After getting the call, Laurie asked if I would say a prayer.  During my prayer I asked Heavenly Father to please help Jon be all right.  I started crying.  I knew that he wasn’t.  When we got to the hospital and told them who we were there to see, and they double checked the name a few times, I knew that he wasn’t okay.  When instead of taking us to see him they took us to a room and a doctor started talking to us, I knew that he wasn’t okay.  

The rest of my visit to California is a blur.  Somehow Becky, Matt and I drove back to Utah.  I know I left a message for my roommates so that I wouldn’t have to talk about it when I got back.  Someone in my parent’s ward used frequent flier miles to get Becky and I home for the funeral.  

I did a lot of crying that week.  And a lot of praying.  I had been taught my whole life that we aren’t gone when we die.  That our spirits live on and we will be resurrected and reunited with our families one day, all because of the gift of our Savior.  I believed these things, but that belief had never been tested.  It is often through our trials that we gain strength, and this was true for me in this.  I can’t even count the number of times where I felt the Holy Ghost giving me comfort, like a huge hug, during these days when everything was still so raw and new.  

Even still, when I feel sad, or when I miss my brother, I can feel comfort.   I know that he is not gone, just away for a while.  I know that I will see him again.  I know that my husband and children, who don’t know Jon, will have their chance to become friends.  I know that he is okay.  Even as I write this, I cry because I miss my brother, and because the pain is still real.  But I don’t have to carry that pain alone, and in spite of my tears, I feel peace.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

Matthew 28:6 “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.”

So on Thanksgiving, I am especially grateful for my Savior.  For making it possible for me to see my brother again.

How have you felt God's love in your time of loss? During the Thanksgiving season, how do you show your gratitude for Jesus's sacrifice for you?

God's Love in the Sunset

By Allie D.

When I was a junior in college, my laptop broke—and when I say “broke,” I mean it broke. No one could fix it. And when I finally realized that no one could fix it, I freaked. I had assignments due and reports to write and a computer was necessary.

I ended up spending that afternoon in the university library, using one of the library computers. I’m a Mac person and the only computers available were Windows; I didn’t know how to use the computer and it was extremely frustrating. On top of that, I’ll admit I’m kind of a germaphobe—all I could think of was how many unwashed hands had probably touched the very same keyboard and mouse I was now using. Gross. By the end of four hours of that, I was about ready to cry.

As I left the library, I offered up a silent prayer: help me to know that things will be all right. I turned and walked out of the west exit of the library, and was immediately astonished by the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen.

This is for you, I heard in my mind, a message from the Holy Ghost. And then I really did cry, because I knew that God was aware of my situation, and my desperation, and that He loved me. I felt His love so strongly, and I knew in that moment that the sunset really was just for me. It was for everyone else in the world, too, you know, but in that moment, it felt like God has just sent me my own personal love letter. I knew that I was on His mind.

I think of that experience often now—every time I immerse myself in the beauties of nature, or every time I see a particularly spectacular sunset. Sometimes I see one of those beautiful sunsets and I wonder who it’s for—who Heavenly Father is trying to communicate with through the wonders of the natural world.

I know that God loves us each personally, and that He is deeply aware of all of our trials and concerns. A broken laptop is not such a big deal, when you compare it to things like war and devastating poverty. But it was a big deal to me that day, and God knew it and He understood and sent me a message of His love.

God loves you, too.

Romans 8:37-39: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

How have you felt God’s love in your life lately?