Diane Affleck Harwood

Nathan's mother passed away on April 13, 2015.  I don't want to post a lot here about my feelings, but since this blog is sort of a family history/journal for me, I do want to post about her passing.

Born October 13, 1957, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with juvenile onset rheumatoid arthritis at the age of five.  In spite of this disease, the daily pain she felt, and the physical limitations the disease placed on her body, she lived a life of courage, optimism and strength.   

There are some things in life that you are never prepared to have happen.  

I am so grateful to know that physical separation from those we love in this life is not permanent. Nathan's mother will always be his mother, she will always be my mother-in-law - the loving mother who gave me an amazing and caring husband, and she will always be "Nana" to my kids.

I printed this quote and put it up in my living room to remind me of the truths I know.

image credit

I have also been pondering the words of President Uchtdorf from conference April 2014

In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings. 

Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny.

The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we realize that endings here in mortality are not endings at all. They are merely interruptions--temporary pauses that one day will seem small compared to the eternal joy awaiting the faithful.

How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings.