2021 has been a year of great joy and sweet sorrow as we welcomed a wonderful grandson-in-law, Alex Tenney, into our family, increasing the total number of our family to 57. However, with deep sadness, we lost a precious grandson, Austin Williams. Only our Savior understands the exquisite emotions of our hearts, and so we trust in Him and his perfect promise: "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. not as the world giveth, give I unto you." Truly there is peace in Christ, and we have been blessed to receive it often and in countless ways, especially in the Temple, our place of peace and true refuge.
May the world and each of you obtain that peace and lasting joy during this sacred season, with faith and trust in him always to understand our hearts.
Everyone has a purpose in life. Life is to find that purpose and go for it. My aim has been centered on our Savior Jesus Christ and my desire to follow him. Families are part of my Plan. I am married, have a posterity of 55 total. We have 6 children with spouses, 32 grandchildren, 6 grandchildren-in-law, and 6 great-grandchildren. We are involved with our family, our faith, and right now, we serve as ordinance workers at the Jordan River Temple and are Justserve.org specialists. We have a full life and are experiencing all kinds of experiences on this earth; good and evil. We have learned many lessons from our experiences. Life is good!
In a nutshell, earth life is a time to learn, grow, have faith, find happiness, and prepare to return home to God. Our lives have purpose and meaning. This beautiful earth was created for us live on. We are here to receive a body, be tested during this 2nd phase of our eternal existence. We can not remember our Pre-mortal life, so we much walk by faith.
1st Nephi 17:36 states: Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited, and he hath created his children that they should possess it.
This Plan is called the Plan of Salvation; it gives meaning to our life. This Plan answers our questions. "Where do I come from? Why am I here? You can read about this Plan of Happiness here. The purpose of God's Plan is for us to all find happiness eternally.
While here on earth, we will have experiences that will bring us happiness and experiences that will bring us sorrow and trials. These moments will test us. Yet, we will grow in our character as we work through these struggles. These experiences will help us learn well from evil and to make choices. One of our greatest gifts is our agency; the ability to choose for ourselves. Will we decide to follow God?
As you read the Plan of Happiness, you will find more answers about why you are here.
Here is a video on The Plan of Salvation. It will help you understand even more this grandiose Plan.
I have a deep hope that you have taken the time to study this beautiful Plan.
Recently, this Plan of salvation helped me through one of the most challenging moments of my life. When I published my last post on God's Eternal Plan, my son called me to tell me that my Grandson, Austin, age 22, had just been killed in a horrific truck accident. His tire blew and forced him into the path of a Semi. The truck then went under the semi and burst into flame. We have prayed that he was killed instantly rather than suffer for a long time.
I, of course, burst into tears and ran to inform my dearest husband. We then spent three-plus hours grieving through tears. We live about 31/2 hours away from this precious son and his family. Tender mercy came when 4 of our grandsons that live in the area came to our home. It was a time for crying, comforting, and relating stories about our precious Austin. My grandson, Christian, was particularly close to Austin, and they had just planned a fishing trip together. He was struggling a lot with this news. So it was perfect for us to all be together for a few hours.
The next day we left for Idaho to help with any funeral plans and to be there to support our family. In addition, the drive-up gave my husband and me a chance to talk about and relate more fully to what had taken place. Our dear Granson left a wife of 14 months. My heart went out in love and sadness at this loss for her. I also felt intensely how hard it would be for my son and daughter-in-law to cope with the loss of this son. They have a total of 8 children, and Austin was their 2nd oldest. It's often said that losing a child is the worst experience a parent can have. Watching our own family suffer through this has added another dimension to the grieving process that we go through during the loss of a loved one.
The following 5 days were filled with activities in preparation for the funeral. This is often called the numb period, where the family goes through getting everything together. It is also a time of reflecting on the goodness of this lost son. Lots of stories are told, and there is plenty of tears and much laughter.
The outpouring of love from the community, friends, loved ones, and family was incredible. There was never a lack of food or someone coming to offer their love and condolences. We knew that hundreds were praying for our family, and we can testify that prayers were answered in the form of comfort, peace, and feeling loved by our Heavenly Father, Savior, and many others.
Many family, friends, and others came to the funeral. Austin loved football, fishing, and trucks. He had great faith in the Savior and belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of his football friends came to the funeral. Austin served a 2-year mission for the church in the Nebraska Omaha Mission. Twenty-five of his mission companions and others came along with his Mission President and wife. This was a huge blessing to us all to see how much Austin was loved by others.
His funeral was lovely. His oldest sister, Justice, and Ethan, two of his siblings, gave the eulogy. Two of his companions from his mission spoke. His father, Travis, our son, gave a beautiful message, his sweet wife Shamra gave a courageous talk on their life together, and then Austin's former Stake President gave a talk on God's eternal plan. The messages celebrated his life, his mission, and his firm beliefs. They brought us all peace and comfort.
Blessings came throughout every part of the funeral planning. These were tender mercies from Heaven. We loved that all of our son's siblings, our children, came, along with uncles, cousins, and other very close friends. One significant tender mercy was that Austin's brother Ethan was allowed to come from his California, Los Angeles mission for 4 days. That was the best!
As I reflect upon those days in mourning, they were also days of having a deeper understanding of God's Plan. Death is part of life. It is a transition into the spirit world. We know that Austin has a plan, and he continues on in the spirit world, following what God wants him to do. We feel like he is on a mission there. However, we also think that he is near us at times. That he will be near when needed. It's all part of the glorious eternal existence we can all have.
I will write more about the Spirit World later on. We are working on getting through the Christmas Celebrations, which have thus far been very tender. We miss our Austin.
