My friend called me this evening with some very sad news. Her friend, who is only 29 years old, stopped breathing last night. They took him to the hospital where they put him on life support. They have determined that he is brain dead and they will be taking him off life support in the morning.
When you hear news like this, even when you don’t know the person well (or at all) it shocks and saddens you. He has a wife and 2 small children. I can’t imagine what they must be going through. As soon as I heard this, all I could think was, if only they knew, if only they had the comfort of the gospel. I know things are still hard when you do have the gospel, but we have something that so many do not. We have a knowledge of the happiness to come.
I feel the tragedy in this, is how his wife (and family) feel right now. For her it is over. She feels lost and alone. Her sadness is overwhelming. This is heartbreaking.
BUT This has opened my eyes a bit, when I hung up the phone, my children and I got on our knees, we prayed that they would be comforted and we thanked Heavenly Father for the true and everlasting Gospel. How lucky we are to have something so amazing and so wonderful. I wish I could give this knowledge to those who need it, but I can’t, so I have decided to share it every chance I get, and not hold back. There are so many people who are lost and sad and alone, and they need what we have! I will listen to that still small voice, I will never again miss any opportunities to share with someone the amazing gift I have been given!
****** side note*****
I am new here so I will tell you a little bit about where I am coming from.
I come from a “hellfire” upbringing. My husband and I joined the church 2 1/2 years ago. We live in the South, and there are not a whole lot of members here. My husband is in Iraq (as a contractor) and we have 2 kids. The Gospel is the best thing that has EVER happened to us. I could never begin to express how much it has changed my family. We have a peace and happiness that I never thought possible. It is times like these (the above story) that I am reminded of how special and amazing the gospel is. 🙂