frazzled & frumpy

There has been a lot of tragedy in our lovely state this week. Several families were altered forever. Lives were changed. Futures suddenly uncertain and dark. The story of the Bear Lake accident was all over the media, both locally and nationally. It broke our hearts and made us all hold our loved ones closer. Thing is, tragedies happen everyday--quietly, without any fanfare or notice, except by those affected. Whether public or private, one thing remains the same--we all experience heartache. As a member of the human race we all go through trying times. We try to avoid it, but Heartache is the master at hide-and-seek. It finds us. It squeezes our hearts, wringing them out till we feel drained and lifeless. But, it isn't so. It is the pain that reveals how very alive we are. It is the intense, immense love in our lives that allows for the ache, fosters it. It is hard. It is hurtful. It is meant to be. Grief and sadness, trials of all kinds, are the things that make us wh...

When my daughter was 18 months old, my sister's friend lost her 18 month-old to a brain tumor. I had met this friend maybe twice, had never even seen the baby. But, as mothers, I guess, we were linked. The night after I'd heard the baby died, after the house was quiet and everyone asleep, I crept into the bathroom. There, on the floor next to the tub, I sobbed and sobbed. I wrote in my journal (long before blogs) and worked through my grief. I have no idea how long I was there. Empathy is a powerful thing. In our attempts to become like the Savior, this is one attribute that is difficult. Not in aquiring it, just the feeling of it. I've often wondered how our Heavenly Parents can handle all the grief and sadness their children experience everyday. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that they are gods and that they have an eternal perspective. For us in our frail human state, this emotion can be overwhelming. My friend is losing her daughter today. She was a ...