Happily Ever After

One of the living room walls in the oldest daughter's house is decorated with a "fairy tale" theme.  There is a family photo in the top corner and underneath that is a collage frame with some pictures taken outside the Mesa Arizona temple on the daughter and son-in-law's wedding day.  The top right space is filled with a Thomas Kincaid print of Cinderella and her prince standing on a bridge in front of their castle. Beneath the print, in large rub-on letters, is written, "And they lived happily ever after".

I have always liked this wall.  To me it speaks of love and commitment and lots of joy.

When we received word of the grandson's initial cancer diagnosis, for some reason a picture came into my mind of the oldest daughter returning to their home from the hospital, opening the door and being confronted by that wall.

I considered the impact it would have on her.

When she walked into her house and read those words what would she think?

Would she feel that they were a mockery? an unfulfilled wish?  a blatant lie? the end of a dream?

Would they fill her with more pain and sorrow?  My mother's heart broke at the very thought.

When we arrived in California and I took my first look at this wall, I will admit that many of those thoughts passed through my mind.

I can honestly say that I spent some time considering how difficult it would be to remove the writing from the wall before the daughter ever had to read it again.

Then we went to the hospital and I saw the grandson and the daughter and the son-in-law.

I saw the love and the commitment of two struggling, but faithful parents.

I saw the sweet little boy who has brought, and will always bring, a special joy to our family.

I still questioned the "happily ever after" ending to their story, but the urgency to permanently remove those words from their home lessened immensely.  I was willing to let them stay right where they were for the time being.

Each day, as I came down the stairs, or entered the house,  I looked at that wall and each day I tried to make peace with the thoughts the words evoked.

At times they spoke of hope and seemed to hold a promise that there would still be a fairy tale ending to this tale.

At other times they seemed to laugh in my face  and question my grasp on reality,

but more and more I knew that I wouldn't be the one to decide if they stayed or not.

The words would greet my daughter when she returned home.

Their fate would be her decision, not mine.

Today I went to the daughter's blog to see if she had updated and once again saw those words. This time emblazoned across the top of her post - Happily Ever After.  As I read what she had written, and then the talk by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf that she referred to,  I realized the decision had been made.

The peace came.

The words will stay, right where they have always belonged.

There are times in my life when I feel foolish.

When I realize that my children will teach me much more in my lifetime than I can ever hope to teach them.

When I remember what I already knew, but managed to forget for a short time.

The day the oldest daughter and the son-in-law became a family was not the end of the story, but an exciting and promising chapter in the book. What is taking place in their lives right now is also just another segment of that story, albeit a more heart wrenching and tear jerking section.  And most likely there will be a lot more happy and harrowing, sad and silly, tender and tedious chapters to follow.

Life is meant to be like that and the "happily ever after" ending comes right where it belongs - at the END,

which I wholeheartedly believe is where the next book will begin.

The sequel, filled with "happily ever after" moments and eternal life, the culmination of the trilogy.

"The Father's plan of happiness for His children includes not only a premortal and mortal life but also an eternal life as well, including a great and glorious reunion with those we have lost.  All wrongs will be righted, and we will see with perfect clarity and faultless perspective and understanding."

"From the limited perspective of those who do not have knowledge, understanding or faith in the Father's plan - who look at the world only through the lens of mortality with its wars, violence, disease, and evil - this life can seem depressing, chaotic, unfair, and meaningless.  Church leaders have compared this perspective with someone walking into the middle of a three-act play.  Those without knowledge of the Father's plan do not understand what happened in the first act, or the premortal existence, and the purposes established there; nor do they understand the clarification and resolution that come in the third act, which is the glorious fulfillment of the Father's plan."   Elder Quentin L. Cook, "The Songs They Could Not Sing".

"'And they all lived happily ever after' is never written into the second act.  That line belongs in the third act when the mysteries are solved and everything is put right." Elder Boyd K. Packer.

This mortal life, like any fairy tale, will be filled with its share of happy moments - feasts and balls, love and learning, singing and selfless service, but it will also include adversity, trials and temptations - wicked witches,  poisoned apples, thorns and thistles, debilitating "curses" and even death.

It has to be that way. That's how we learn.

It is all part of a loving author's plan for each of our lives and how we get to our "Happily Ever After" ending.

Grab on to a friend's hand and the Savior's hand and lets go live our story the best we can, so its culmination will bring the ending we are hoping for, the ending which our Heavenly Father has prepared for us - never ending happiness and eternal life.

Today I am thankful for

my knowledge of God's plan of happiness.

a visit to the skin and cancer center.  It is wonderful to, once a year, be praised for and congratulated on my perfect, pale, pasty white skin.

a visiting teaching companion that makes the appointments, prepares the lesson and brings the treat.

the odd junk items I have lying around the house. They entertain the cats and I don't have to waste my money on cat toys.

a daughter, who chose to fulfill her church calling despite her own trials, and learned something that she then decided to share so I could be reminded of something I needed to remember.  Amazing how that all works.