The final milestone....

It dawned on me yesterday that I have survived this past year.  At the end of this month, it will be the one year anniversary of my father's passing--the final milestone in that year of "firsts".  Judging by the posts I made following his death, I truly think those events/holidays during the first year without him could have been termed "millstones" instead of "milestones".  At the time, I honestly didn't think I could ever overcome the feeling of utter devastation.   But, I have.  I actually feel peace almost all the time. Still some twinges of disappointment and very occasional pangs of anger that he left so soon.  But, nothing compared to the first few months that he was gone.  A few weeks ago, I even chose for one of our sacrament meeting hymns the hymn I sang at his funeral, "Our Savior's Love" and I didn't even tear up while I was leading the congregation.

I'm so grateful for the blessings that the gospel brings and for the gift of eternal families.