Craig’s Blog

Our lives are directed from above

January 15th, 2007 at 02:28pm craig

Yesterday a young mother in my congregation passed away with cancer leaving behind her a husband and three young children ages 5, 3 and 9 months. It is a death very poignant to me given that it is nearly 3 years since my own wife passed away in similar circumstances. My own children at the time were 9, 5, 3 and 1. The event has brought many painful memories back to me.

As I sat here this morning contemplating, it occurred to me that I am not here in this place at this time by coincidence. I was reminded that our lives are very much directed from above and that we each have a greater purpose in life.

When I first moved over to the States in August 2004 I ended up living in American Fork, Utah. The home we ended up renting was not in the neighborhood I had initially wanted but I felt right in taking it. The local congregational members were very supportive of our family and I felt blessed to be there. But a few months after moving in a family on the next street over lost their father leaving his wife and two young girls, friends of my own daughter. And three months later another family on the same street was hit with a similar tragedy. I found myself having gone through the loss of my own wife being a great support to these two women as they struggled to come to terms with their loss. I came to realize then I had been directed to that area to be a comfort and support to others.

When I moved to Provo in October after a very trying time I felt a lot of love and support here and felt that I had been brought here so that I would have that support. And maybe that is true. But as I sat contemplating this morning on this recent death I realized I had been directed here not so much for my benefit but so that I could use my own experiences to support and strength the lives of others affected by this recent tragic event.

I have always felt I was blessed with a great inward strength in coping with the tragedy and other events in my own life. The more time goes by the more I realize this blessing was not just for me but for those whose lives I might touch. It is a timely reminder that I should be looking at how I can bless others’ lives rather than worrying about my own difficulties.

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