Life is Fragile

You've heard the phrase "Life is Fragile, handle with Prayer," but does that phrase really have any meaning to anyone when everyone is so busy with LIFE?....   


I think when death touches one in one way or another, that is the time when you stop and think, Yes, life is very fragile......


In the last three weeks, my life has been touched by three deaths.  These deaths were friends, two were members of our ward and one was a neighbor where we use to live..


The first was a sister in our ward, she lived just down the street from us, she was my visiting teacher when I first moved into my new home.   About two and a half years ago, when she returned home from a morning visit to a friend, she found her husband sitting at the computer, he had just past away.  The next year was hard for her to adjust to him being gone.  She then decided she wanted to go on a Mission for the church.  When she went for her physical she found she had some medical problems.  The next year and half she fought one medical problem after another until it was her time to go.  She was around my age.


The following week a sweet sister in our ward lost her battle with a deadly disease, which she has been fighting for several years.  She was a very positive sister and so full of life.  She was  very pretty with a very pretty smile.  She had beautiful dark hair and had lost of friends.  She was only 47 years old.  The doctors had told her, her days were numbered and so her and her family had made plans and arrangements for when that time would come.  Her favorite color was launder, and so she had special ties for the men in her life to wear and special blouses for her daughters to wear for her "Celebration of Life."  Her husband and a couple of close friends made her casket out of beautiful wood.  She was buried on their family plot.  Her funeral  was over flowing with all her friends and family.


Then last Sunday our neighbor from our old neighborhood past away from a heart attack.  He had had some heart problems but they thought it was solved and so this attack and death was such a shock to his dear wife.  He was 67 years old.  We went to his funeral last Wednesday.  He was of a different faith and so the services were so different from the services of these dear sisters.  There was only 24 family members and 8 neighbor friends in attendance. 
The LDS ward made arrangements for a luncheon for this family, as the family members were from out of state.  I felt so sorry for my friend, her beliefs tell her at death they do part.  Her heart is broken and she feels so lost.  Where was the solace, where was the peace??


Life is fragile handle with prayer... 


When my father past away, my parents had been married for 65 years.  Mama depended on Daddy for everything.  He was her life.  She waited on him and took good care of him.  He in turn did the same for her.  She never drove a car so Daddy took her everywhere. He also paid all the bills, and so when he died she was lost.  She had no desire to go on.  


My brother and I became her caregivers, I took her shopping, paid her bills, help in the house, we helped with the yard etc.  Soon it became necessary to fix her meals and spend the night.  It was at this time that I started to read to her..  She was just spending time wanting to pass on and be with Daddy.  She would comment about this often and wanted to know why she couldn't die...  I would tell her it just wasn't her time.


Then one night when I was reading to her I came across this paragraph in the book "The story of the Latter-day Saints" by James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, and it reads,  "Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."  I read this to Mama and then I said, "here is your answer Mama, the Lord knows when it's your time."  I wrote this paragraph on a card and gave it to her and told her when she started to question her life time again, to hold this card for her time is known only to the Lord, and she just needed to be mindful of each day...
I believe this gave her peace for I don't remember her asking to die anymore...


Life is precious and it's up to us to make the most of it.  Let us remember what is truly important, for we only have this time to take care of those things that are lasting and eternal.


First and foremost is our family and love ones.  Let us not waste a moment to let those that we love know how important they are to us and how much we love them, by the things we do and the things we say.  


Our beliefs and the way we live our lives tell who we are.   Our religion and how we serve our God.  By reading the Scriptures, keeping our Convents and keeping the Lords Commandments.  By saying our Prayers, attending the Temple, attending church on Sunday and keeping the Sabbath Day holy. 


We only have one life and we are living it now, our days are numbered and only the Lord knows those days, may we do the very best with the days that we have...


Yes, lets hope we all remember this phrase and keep it close to our hearts.


Life is Fragile, Handle with Prayer