Note: Alice is my sister-in-law, who died last year from complications of childbirth.
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Dear Alice,
The lilacs are blooming and it reminds me that it's been a year since you left us. I just wanted to write and say how much we miss you. I know you didn't want to leave; how much you were needed here by your husband and children. But we don't get to choose when we leave this world and we'll all just have to get by without you. It was the Lord's plan for you. I can find no other way to explain it.
I want you to know your children are doing well. Your oldest can ride a little two-wheeler now even though he's only four. He got potty-trained not long after you left us--I know you were feeling a little frustrated about that!
Your next little boy had the hardest time after you were gone. For the first few months, every time I saw him he seemed unhappy and a little lost. But he's doing better now and getting into trouble the way any two-year-old should. Your baby girl is so sweet. We celebrated her birthday just last week. She's crawling now and I love to watch her. She enjoys having books read to her and gladly takes any attention we give her. I think she has your personality. She's happy and easygoing, yet determined.
But maybe you already know all this. I like to think that you get to see your children often. You were such a dedicated mother and that doesn't go away just because you pass on. I don't know how the Lord compensates for these losses but, because He is just, you and your family will be compensated.
I never got to tell you that you were a good example for me. You were so loyal to your family and such a happy person. You worked hard to become a very accomplished musician and yet you were okay with giving up that career to be a wife and a mother. Since you were such a good example of young motherhood, maybe it's appropriate that you died near Mother's Day.
Every time I think of you, I like to picture you dressed in white with your hair flowing, busily going about the business of teaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ, always with a smile on your face. In my mind, I hear you assuring me that you are happy, living in a better world, free of the cares of this one. I envy you a little. You passed all the tests of this life with flying colors and now you've graduated while the rest of us are still enrolled in Mortality 101.
It's hard to write this, bringing back all those memories. Just know that we love you and miss you and so look forward to our happy reunion someday.
Love,
Paula
The lilacs are blooming and it reminds me that it's been a year since you left us. I just wanted to write and say how much we miss you. I know you didn't want to leave; how much you were needed here by your husband and children. But we don't get to choose when we leave this world and we'll all just have to get by without you. It was the Lord's plan for you. I can find no other way to explain it.
I want you to know your children are doing well. Your oldest can ride a little two-wheeler now even though he's only four. He got potty-trained not long after you left us--I know you were feeling a little frustrated about that!
Your next little boy had the hardest time after you were gone. For the first few months, every time I saw him he seemed unhappy and a little lost. But he's doing better now and getting into trouble the way any two-year-old should. Your baby girl is so sweet. We celebrated her birthday just last week. She's crawling now and I love to watch her. She enjoys having books read to her and gladly takes any attention we give her. I think she has your personality. She's happy and easygoing, yet determined.
But maybe you already know all this. I like to think that you get to see your children often. You were such a dedicated mother and that doesn't go away just because you pass on. I don't know how the Lord compensates for these losses but, because He is just, you and your family will be compensated.
I never got to tell you that you were a good example for me. You were so loyal to your family and such a happy person. You worked hard to become a very accomplished musician and yet you were okay with giving up that career to be a wife and a mother. Since you were such a good example of young motherhood, maybe it's appropriate that you died near Mother's Day.
Every time I think of you, I like to picture you dressed in white with your hair flowing, busily going about the business of teaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ, always with a smile on your face. In my mind, I hear you assuring me that you are happy, living in a better world, free of the cares of this one. I envy you a little. You passed all the tests of this life with flying colors and now you've graduated while the rest of us are still enrolled in Mortality 101.
It's hard to write this, bringing back all those memories. Just know that we love you and miss you and so look forward to our happy reunion someday.
Love,
Paula
Thanks for this letter, Paula. I got emotional reading it and seeing the pictures, even now, 10 years after her death.
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