It's been a while, this I know, sorry for those who may have thought I had dropped off the face of the earth. I kind of feel like I have. Over the past couple of weeks my grandpa's health rapidly diminished. For a while now his liver has been failing him. We were hoping at some point, that he might get on to a donor list, but because he had previously had prostate cancer, his chances were slim to none. Well, he took a turn for the worst and my family prayerfully decided that we would bring him down to live with my aunt and uncle who recently moved to Highland to get some treatment down here. This whole time he has been sick is kinda surreal as we just expected him to get better, he was still in his 60s and pretty young and full of life. The idea was he would be close to Salt Lake and a special doctor named April. I think I have talked about her on my other blog. Anyway, after draining his large stomach from fluid, we transported him down here (to utah). This being labor day weekend, I went home to visit Jack's family so I was in Idaho when he came down here. Before he came there were a lot of preparations to be made, so it seems like so long ago because it's been so stressful and emotionally taxing. On Labor Day, we received a phone call from my mother saying that grandpa woke up that morning and decided that it was time to go and that he thought it would be that day or the next. My entire family immediately loaded up and caravaned down to Utah. Things went smoothly, getting down there. A car accident happened right in front of Jack and I to watch, and that seemed to just add to the intense drive. However, lucky for me, Jack was very good at keeping me calm and happy and I have to say my ride was quite pleasant. Jack and I arrived about an hour before everyone else so I was lucky to have a lot of time to talk to my grandpa before anyone got there. He reviewed specific things he wanted me to do for his funeral, a lot of them having to do with music. He talked to me about his hopes for my future, meaning marriage. He wanted to make sure that Jack was the tallest of all the men, so we promised to size him up on the wall in my grandparents house when we got a chance. The most important thing I want to share a little bit about what what he said about how he knew it was his time to go. He had mentioned that he talked to the Lord, and in short the Lord told him that if he was ready He could use his help. My grandpa agreed to come. My grandpa also talked about seeing his brother and sister, his parents and my grandma's mother. They were all there encouraging him to come. My grandpa shared with us what Heavenly Father looked like and many other things that he said to him. It was a really spiritual experience for my whole family. We each had a turn to talk to him individually and to tell him we loved him. This will be something that I won't ever be able to forget. What a blessing it was for me to be able to have a glimpse at the unknown. I am so grateful that I know my Heavenly Father's plan for me, and even more grateful that His plan includes a family that I get to be with forever. So while this was a really sad experience, I can say that my family and I feel that peace and confirmation that everything is as it should be, and the Lord has us in his hands and we will be together again someday.
