Grandma's Arms

A few days ago, a loved on was undergoing major surgery back home. We had the date of the operation on the calendar for some time, and  had fasted and prayed many times that all would go well, and it did -- -yet on the day of the surgery, I was so rattled!  We were only two weeks from coming home, and I felt so useless being here, and wanted to be there. It was a very difficult day---- several times during the day, I felt a calming presence come right into the room and close beside me, and as I cleared my mind, I felt that it was my Grandmother there, coming to comfort me, sort of putting her arms around me. 

I was so grateful!! My tears of  concern and worry stopped and I felt, strongly, her presence and love, for me and for my loved one, and I knew that everything was okay. Later I learned that this same Grandmother had also been with my loved one, offering comfort and reassurance.

As I tried to keep my mind on the feelings of peace that my Grandmother was bringing, I felt so much calmer, but as soon as I allowed thoughts or feelings of worry and fear to creep back in, I was again in tears ---- when others are in need of faith or strength, I find it easy to reassure , but when I am the one in the middle of the struggle, then I am tested and feel weak. 

I am so grateful for those who strengthen me when I am in need, and have been reminded of the scripture in Jacob 3: "Look unto God with firmness of Mind, and pray unto Him with exceeding faith, and He will console you in your afflictions." I later found out that my dear Mother was also praying that help would be given to us all.

What would we do without our Grandmothers and Mothers love?

The surgery went very well, recovery for our loved one is now well under way, and things are good.

SO grateful for the knowledge that we have, that our loves ones do not cease to exist, that they are still very interested in us and can reach out to us in times of need.

One of the things that I have loved doing here on our mission is

Family History research with our young Missionaries for family members who have passed on.

It was a real treat to  find these headstones in an old cemetery in Halifax.

They are some of Sister Sharp's ancestors. She was so surprised to discover that she had family from here!  She had no idea~

Walking through graveyards holds a strange appeal, and this one was especially sobering.Many of the victims of the Titanic disaster are buried  in Halifax as it was one of the closest ports. The headstones are designed to represent the shape of a ships' bow, slightly rolling to one side, with some headstones higher on the left and lower on the right.

The numbers on the headstone represents the order in which the bodies were pulled from the water --what a difficult task that would have been. This one that says J. Dawson is visited more frequently than the others as many people think he is the real person in the movie "Titanic"..... interesting, eh!

 So my testimony this week is that the veil can be very thin sometimes, and that we can feel our loved ones close by. God's plan of Salvation is real, He intends for families to be together, our Savior Jesus Christ has made this possible, by performing the  infinite and incredible atonement, He knows our joys and sorrows, He has made all things possible for us.
            How grateful I am for the His Great Love for me, and for all of us.