Elder Coletti's Letter 3/19/17:
This week I learned a very valuable lesson and it has really changed my perspective of eternal families. So, recently in our ward, we had a member pass away. His name is 林秉程 (Lin Bing Cheng). Brother Lin was in Japan with his family when he started to have a heart attack. He eventually passed away 2 weeks later. He and his wife were baptized in Dec. of 2014. Brother Lin has 2 children, both under the age of 8. This past week Elder Welker and I went to his funeral. At the funeral were all of Brother Lin's friends, families, coworkers, etc. It was during the end of the service, that everybody that attended grabbed a flower, and set it down by a big frames picture of Brother Lin. They bowed to the picture, and then they bowed to Brother Lin's wife, sister, and other family members. After a little bit of time, and lots of emotional sisters, it turned into every sister hugging Sister Lin and comforting her. It was then that it kind of hit me: he's gone. The man that I saw every week a church. The man with two beautiful children. He was gone. It eventually was time for myself and Elder Welker to go up and pay our respect, along with the other ward members. As I turned the corner, I saw the big framed picture of Brother Lin, and I felt like I had been smacked in the face! Throughout my life, I haven't dealt that much with death. The death that I have dealt with happened when I was way too young to realize what was going on or what it meant. When I saw the picture of Brother LIn, I realized that I was never going to see him again and that hit me so hard. When I got up to the front, I gave Sister Lin a two handed handshake. We were both very emotional. But, when I saw her face and looked into her eyes, I was relieved. What I saw, when I looked into her eyes was hope. She knew that it was going to be alright. She knew he was still there. She knew that they had an eternal family, one that would break the binds of death. That is the power of eternal families. Families are forever.
I know that families are eternal. We will always be together. We will always be near, no matter how far it seems that we have fallen. Sister Lin's hope was amazing and it helped me realize the truthfulness of eternal families. If you have experience tragedy, or when you experience tragedy, remember that it is not the end. With God on your side, you will never reach the end. I love my family, and I am so grateful to have this opportunity on earth to grow with them, to learn with them, and to eventually return with them. Keep the wider perspective. Think beyond this life on earth. I cannot wait to go to the homecoming party with all of you, my brothers and sisters, after we win this game.;)
Elder Coletti
No comments:
Post a Comment