"He is not here; for he is risen."

If any of you have ever been in my home, you can say that I have alot of pictures. I love to take my favorite pictures of my babies and put them through out the house. These children are what I live for. They are what keep me going. But in my home, there is a picture that is by far my favorite. It is not one of my husband and I when we were dating and I was thin.lol Or even of my first born son. It is a simple picture, in a simple brown frame, done by a man named Walter Rayne, that sits on my window sill above my sink in my kitchen. It is a picture of an empty tomb where Christ was laid to rest, and on that tomb the cloth that he was wrapped in, and the picture is called "He is not here;for he is risen.... This picture, this sentence out of Mathew 28 is so important to me. This to me, may be one of the important pieces of truth that I know. Jesus Christ himself made it clear to Martha when he found her weeping over the death of her brother Lazarus.

I find myself thinking of my son often these days. I can not help but worry about was is yet to come with all of these wars and natural disasters the world is experiencing. I read the headlines "Families still searching for loved ones", or " I was helpless as my child was taken from my arms" after the tsunami in American Samoa. I watch my friend as she buries her son I see the look his fathers face as he places the dirt in the grave of his beloved child. What heart breaking experiences we go through and stories we read about these days. As I see these things and watch the news I am understanding more and more each day that everyone , everywhere, no matter who we are, where we live or the color of our skin, will one time or another experience sorrows and pain. And as much as I have hated the sorrows and have had my faith shaken almost beyond no return , I know that without pain, there is no joy. When I lost my son almost 2 years ago, I found myself regretting the fact that I ever had children at all. I remember screaming at my parents for even bringing me into this earth, where we are susceptible to pain, and heartbreaks and sorrows. But as time has passed by and pain has softened, I know that I wouldn't trade these children for anything in the world. They are what life is about. These children ease the sorrows, and make the pain we go through worth the struggle. The time I spent with my son for the 7 months that he was physically here, was the most important months of his Mortal Life. My Davis was already a perfect spirit, he was already righteous enough to not have to go through the experience of "This Life." At a fire side once I listened as the speaker talked about the things that are the most important for us to do, in order to make it home(heaven) again, and the first one is to obtain a body. We must become mortal in order to eventually become immortal. And my child passing before the age of accountability, has promised his glory. What comfort it is to know where my son and his perfect spirit resides until I am with him again. I often think about the words of a song in my mind when I see, or hear of people and communities in such pain.

" This is not my home,

its not where I belong,

windows and rooms, I'm passing through,

this is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going,

I'm not afraid because I know,

this is my, Temporary Home"

I love those words, because they remind me that my son is not lost to me....he is home. I am not missing him from my life, rather he is home waiting until my testing on this earth is through, until the lord seems fit to call me home. So all the , natural disasters, wars,rumors of wars,

evil and destruction, sorrow, pain, trials and tribulations this world has to offer, in the end, it will be ok because, This is OUR temporary home!