extended family

We recently laid to rest my husbands aunt Esther.
She was 100 years old at the time of her passing.

The funeral was not a sad occasion. (I have not been to one that was.)
Because we believe in the great Plan of Happiness (the Plan of Salvation), members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believe that death is a temporary separation.
We believe that there is life after death, and that our families can be together again… forever.
It is a wonderful gift, from a loving Heavenly Father, who wants nothing more
than for us to return home to live with him again.

Many surviving family members gathered to pay their respects.
Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, Nephews, Cousins, Grandchildren.
Many had not been seen in nearly 30 years.
In the few short hours that we had, we tried to catch up on all those years.
We said our goodbyes and resolved to do better… to not let another 30 years go by.

This is not always an easy task. Distance and responsibilities seem to get in the way so easily.
How blessed are we to be able to link ourselves through the proper use of social media.
Somehow, distances are shortened. Gaps are narrowed. Relationships are strengthened.

We are looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with so many important people. FAMILY!

“We ought to encourage our children to know their relatives. We need to talk of them, make effort to correspond with them, visit them, join family organizations, etc.” ~Spencer W Kimball