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The Beauty of the Gospel

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I had a very sad and yet very interesting experience yesterday that really made me appreciate the gospel and the beauty of the plan of salvation.

A little while ago, one of the guys on the Rowing Team told us that his mom had Stage 4 Breast Cancer and that he was skipping practice to spend more time with her. Now personally, I couldn't believe this cause 1. If my Mom had breast cancer, I would pull out of school and go home to spend every moment I could with her, and 2. He hadn't made any big deal about it. He just told us and didn't expect any sympathy from us. He's a really nice guy, but it was amazing to me to see how well he was handling it.

Just yesterday, he emailed us to tell us that she had actually passed away that afternoon. All of a sudden, to me everything I was doing right then just seemed so trivial. I was just about to do some extra steady state after practice when I read the email, and while I was erging I just couldn't believe all the things in life that we put so much emphasis on, and yet don't really matter. To me, all these audition results and rowing results and having a big dinner and what I was doing in the day; it all just seemed so silly that that is what we think about all day.

Now I'm not saying that we should just think about life and death all the time and live in a tiny bubble of a world with our families, but it made me appreciate the important things in life a little more. It really reminded me of last semester, when I didn't call home except when I needed Mommy or Daddy, and how I was completely isolated outside of the family bubble. I never stopped to think of my family and what and how they were doing.

I feel awful about how I never called, and I call home a lot more now. And it is so wonderful to talk to Mommy and Daddy and the rest of the family! But it also made me appreciate the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation SO much more. I can't imagine being in his position and thinking: " I'll never see my mom again" and having to keep living life through that. To me, I don't know what I would do without a member of my family in my life, especially my PERFATO mama(: It's beautiful to think that we can still live together after we die, and that even after the Resurection we can spend time with each other.

Love you family and I'm thinking of you guys!

Comments

  1. John KennedyFebruary 8, 2012 at 10:36 PM

    We love you too mark and are glad we know the plan of salvation and how it gives us comfort and understanding

    ReplyDelete
  2. LarisaFebruary 9, 2012 at 8:10 AM

    Oh my goodness, Mark, I cried for that poor boy. Can you even imagine losing a parent at such a young age? We need to remember to pray for him and his family that their hearts will be comforted.

    We know you love us, Markie-Boy, although you have been much better at showing us lately :-) We love you too!

    ReplyDelete

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