601. Article called "Friends in Paradise" is very touching to me. My best friend, my husband Wayne has been in Paradise since February 21st, 2016.

This article written Feb. 23rd, has been sitting in my e mail for around 10 days, because I haven't had time or interest to catch up on my e mails.  Just 3 days ago was the funeral for my dear husband Wayne.  I'm not quite ready to write about him.  I have been attending to many mundane but necessary things, such as checking on life insurance, retirement money, Social Security, writing many many thank you's, etc.  I'll get back to writing my blog more regularly in a few more days.  Just know, dear readers, that I am okay, and I feel a great peace about my dear husband.  It was truly his time to leave this "frail existence", and be with his identical twin brother who passed away almost 17 years ago, and his parents,  and several siblings.

More to come -------------  Enjoy this article.  It is very touching.

Friends in Paradise

By Rynna Ollivier · February 23, 2016

A year ago I became critically ill due to a very rare disease. Every moment of every day was a struggle, but I’m a fighter and was determined to beat it.

One day my Bishop unexpectedly dropped by and asked if he could give me a blessing. I was grateful and very touched by his loving care and concern. But what followed was totally unnerving!

Instead of blessing me to get better he said there were many in the hereafter who loved me and were anxiously awaiting my return; that I needed to stop fighting so hard, to let go and put my faith and trust in the Lord and His plan for me.

That blessing, coupled with the fact that our family dog, and cat, had been shadowing my every move for a week (even jumping on the bed and laying as close as possible) gave me real cause for concern.

Up until the Bishop’s visit I had great hopes of getting better. But after that blessing I was filled with doubt and uncertainty.

I remember going to bed wondering if I would make it through the night. My heart overflowed with tremendous emotion as I thought about seeing Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother and the Savior, and feeling spiritually unprepared. Tears filled my eyes. Was the time for me to leave mortality really here?

Then Satan dropped by and started tilling the ground around those seeds of doubt that crept in earlier. Did I truly believe all that I had professed to believe about life after death; that there’s another dimension teaming with spiritual life and happiness where family and friends lovingly await my arrival? Would one of them come and get me? How wonderful it would be to see all of them again: happy, flourishing and no longer suffering … that is, if it’s true!

What about my husband, children and grandchildren … how would they cope with my death? Were my temporal affairs in order? So many mixed and intense feelings overwhelmed me! But the sweet, healing balm of prayer––the unspeakable peace that only the Spirit can bring––and my dear husband’s loving presence, eased my troubled heart and I slipped away into a deep sleep.

Needless to say, I was relieved to wake up the next morning with the dog breathing in my face and the cat crying to be fed. I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning … I had been given another day!

So the new me, a spiritually strengthened, more faithful and believing me, decided to do exactly what my Bishop counseled: stop struggling, let go and trust in the Lord’s love, timing and plan for me.

Instead of allowing myself to become anxious or sad at the prospect of dying and leaving my loved ones, I started thinking about all the people I longed to see who were now in paradise. In the Bishop’s words “the many who loved me and were anxiously awaiting my return.” The more I thought about them the calmer I felt, so I decided to write their names down.

Before long I had an amazing list of precious family members and friends. Some who I hadn’t thought about for years––probably because they died when I was a child or young adult––now came flooding into my mind.

Somehow seeing their names and thinking about each of them and the sweet reunion we would have sometime in the future, gave me a deep sense of happiness and peace, eased any sadness I was feeling, and gave me the emotional boost I needed to carry on, come what may.

Even though I’m no longer critically ill and struggling for life, I remain forever grateful for a Bishop who strengthened my faith and trust in the Lord and who awakened me to something I’ve always known but never consciously thought about; when I leave this earth life and pass through the veil, there’s a tremendous love support waiting for me. Waiting to help me transition into eternal life and waiting for us to pick up right where we left off! And it’s the same for all of us.

Writing down the names of friends in paradise turned out to be one of the most tender, spiritual experiences I’ve ever had.

Just thinking about all of them again filled my heart with gratitude for the richness of life and the profuse blessings that have come to me, and continue to do so, because of special people and their friendships.

I am reminded that the love and relationships we share is eternal; that we are all family, brothers and sisters, children of a loving Heavenly Father whose work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of us, His children (see Moses 1:39).

That love is the sealing power and is indeed the greatest power in the universe. For God’s Plan is that we are families forever, friends forever and forever children of God.

This last month I sadly added two dear friends to my list. I haven’t seen either of them for a long time and the news of their death was quite a shock.

However, being able to add them to the rest of my friends in paradise seemed to lift some of the sadness I was feeling. Perhaps it’s because I added them to a group of amazing individuals who I know for certain will comfort and bless them in their transition into eternal life, and that I will see them again.

As I ponder all of this, I’ve concluded that perhaps the greatest blessing that has come from this challenging and cherished experience is that I have become acutely aware of all the good people who have blessed and influenced my life. I’ve also concluded that my life is a work in progress and if I have achieved anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, it is most definitely because of someone whose name is on the list.