A Moment When Faith Triumphs Over Pain

Update on Husband: I have good news! The cyst is NOT basal cell carcinoma. It's just a cyst, and as a cyst, it's on its way out. I got the call from the resident doctor a few days ago, who told me that though it looked just like basal cell carcinoma, it was nothing. She also said, "He [Husband] was right. He's never going to let us live that down, is he?" She was laughing when she said it, so I guess she understands that while he will never let them live that down, he'll lord it over them with humor.

Thank you to those who were sending prayers his way! Who knows? Maybe those prayers created a miracle. I can certainly believe that.

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I had to do something today that I was not looking forward to. I attended the viewing of a tiny baby, who died a couple hours after being born. I have been to viewings before, but they've always been of adults, and I did not think I would be able to get through seeing that tiny form lying in a casket without dropping to my knees and sobbing.

I didn't know the parents of this baby girl. They live in our stake, and as I have just received a new calling in the stake Relief Society Presidency, the new president felt it was appropriate that we go and support this family in the hour of their need, so I met the other women at the church. None of us felt ready, but we finally entered the room to speak to the parents.

It's amazing the power of faith. The parents had known since the third month that their baby would not survive birth for very long. An ultrasound showed that the baby girl's brain was not developing, so the parents had some time to come to grips with the news that their littlest one would not survive. They also were able to spend time preparing their older children. Because the parents had been sealed in the temple for time and all eternity, they knew they would be able to see their little one again. During the time that we talked to them, they gently comforted us instead of the other way around. The little girl lying in the casket looked like a tiny doll. The photos and digital slide shows on display were images full of joy and love instead of grief and pain. The room was full of peace.

All the same, I really don't want to do that again. As we left the room where the casket lay and walked back out to the foyer, all of us let the tears finally fall. I hope that if I had to undergo an ordeal of that magnitude I would have the strong faith, grace, and joy that those parents did. Still, I am not asking for that kind of trial.