3 Funerals and a ?

Lori Bench
passed away Dec. 8th, 2009

Jim and Kelly Peacock
Together Again!

These last few months have been pretty rough for the Bradley family. We have had 3 funerals in the last 4 months. Luckily they usually come in 3's, so we are done for a while! Right? My dad's sister Kelly died unexpectedly in her sleep in October. Then his other sister, Lori, died from cancer in December. Last week, Kelly's husband, Jim, passed away unexpectedly. They left behind their son JD, who is a senior in High School.

Having someone die, always makes me reflect on my life and reminds me how short this life is. It reminds me how important it is to make the most of our relationships with our families and those that are close to us so that there are no regrets! It is a good time to reflect on our relationship with our Heavenly Father and the purpose for being here on Earth. How grateful I am for my knowledge that we do have a purpose in this life and how it will directly effect our life for eternity.

At Jim's funeral this week, we sang "Come, Come, Ye Saints." Generally when that song is sung at a funeral, the last verse about Death is the part that really gets to me and I generally can't even sing through that verse. This time, the second verse really stuck out to me.

"Why should we mourn, or think our lot is hard?
Tis not so. All is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins
Fresh Courage take
Our God will never us forsake.
And soon we'll have this tale to tell
All is well. All is well."

I know that God does have a purpose for each of us. I know that we must take up 'fresh courage' and that God will never forsake us. I am grateful for my testimony of my Savior and to know that this life is truly the time to prepare.