Family by proxy
I had the chance to be a grandmother again. No, none of my children had a baby, though there are two babies on the way. I went with a wonderful sister in our ward for her first time at the temple, and she gave me her grandmother's name. She has been actively involved doing baptisms for her family, she has been filled with the excitement of family research, and she was anxious to be taking a further step to bring the gospel's blessings into her own life and to her family members. She felt that she knew and loved so many as she found their records and identity.
I asked her if she was sure she didn't want to wait and do this service for her grandmother herself, but she told me to go ahead. I thought as we commenced that it might be a joy to know that she and her grandmother obtained those blessings on the same day, at the same time. As I looked at the record, I saw that this grandmother was born just a few days before my own father. My father is still with us, but her beloved grandmother is gone. Gone from this earth, but not gone from awareness, kinship, or love. I felt her there with us, and now the keys of the kingdom are turned for her, and she can strengthen and keep watch over her beloved child even more.
What a gift it was to be a part of that.
I asked her if she was sure she didn't want to wait and do this service for her grandmother herself, but she told me to go ahead. I thought as we commenced that it might be a joy to know that she and her grandmother obtained those blessings on the same day, at the same time. As I looked at the record, I saw that this grandmother was born just a few days before my own father. My father is still with us, but her beloved grandmother is gone. Gone from this earth, but not gone from awareness, kinship, or love. I felt her there with us, and now the keys of the kingdom are turned for her, and she can strengthen and keep watch over her beloved child even more.
What a gift it was to be a part of that.
Congratulations, Grandma (even if only by proxy). A dear friend has a grandson who insists on calling me grandpa, so who am I to argue.
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