Gone, but only for a while.

Last Saturday our sweet Stacey would have celebrated her 33rd Birthday.

I've thought a lot about you these past few days...I miss you Stace, I miss being able to call you for advise or even just to hear your words of encouragement when my days seem long and draining. 

Stacey was one of the M.E.A.N.E.S.T moms I knew :-) and I know she would have adorned the title with pride. She was so patient and always seeking out ways to teach her children.

She passed away suddenly- 2 weeks after the birth of her fourth baby. It took several months for me to come to terms with her loss. As I stood by her bedside saying our goodbyes and watching my brothers heart breaking -- devastated, doesn't even come close to how I felt. I was so certain she was going to make it, her work as a mother was not even close to being finished. She was needed here.....what was so important to take her way?

As weeks passed my heartache and questioning turned to anger, watching my brother struggle with his little ones as he tried to grieve and come to terms with the responsibilities he now faced alone. I just couldn't understand the situation we were left in.....til one day I received a phone call from my sister. She had just walked out of the temple when she called me. She said she was sitting waiting for her session when she pulled out the Book of Mormon and it fell open to Moroni chapter 9. She then stated, "I just felt verse 25 was something you needed to hear.....

"My [Daughter], be faithful in Christ; and may not the things

I have [done] grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death,

but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death,

and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy

and long suffering, and the hope of his glory and of

eternal life, rest in your mind forever"

This was the start to my awakening....days later I sat down to read a quick talk out of the Ensign. The talk I opened to was by Pres. Eyring...as I read it I cried. Our Father in Heaven is amazing...and when we are finally willing to listen, he will reach out to us.

http://lds.org/ensign/2009/05/adversity?lang=eng&noLang=true&path=/ensign/2009/05/adversity

The loss of a loved one can break you. But when you get knocked down you have to find a way to pick yourself back up again. If you or someone you know is struggling today -- I hope these messages that brought me understanding, renewed my hope and joy for life, will do the same for you.

And when we think of our loved ones -- remember the words of Enos...

"...I go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer;

And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality,

and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure..."
(Enos 1:27)

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=stacey-lynn-lambert-wolfley&pid=129745389&fhid=4510