Be still my soul

Sunday in church, we sang one of my favorite hymns. I had been singing it to myself all week and found it appropriate that it would be the closing hymn in our sacrament meeting. It brings a great deal of comfort to my heart. I will share the last verse of the song.

Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on,
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

The Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways. We can no more deny his hand in our lives than we could the sun that rises in the east each morning. This is a hard thing to say, but I am very grateful for the experiences of this past week. The heavens have been opened and blessings poured out on all those who would receive them. I feel a peace and joy that before, had been buried in the everyday responsibilities of life.
I know that my sister and her family will be with their little Joshua once again. As for me, I know not the day when my children will be taken home. What I do know, is that the responsibility is mine to teach them the gospel and help them reach that same goal, so that when the day comes, they too can rest in the presence of their Father in Heaven.
I have always loved the practice of releasing balloons at the burial of a child, but this time it held a more personal and meaningful significance. As I watched the funeral director hand out balloons to all the little children, I was impressed that this was a likeness of their spirits that would live worthily and someday, rise up to meet Josh. It was beautiful to me.