*sigh* I did it again. I was getting so good at not missing Thankful Thursday and now I've missed two in three weeks. My apologies, oh faithful five readers. I'm sure you've waited with baited breath for me to post:)
I was recently blessed to attend the sealing of my "little" brother to a wonderful woman. Temple marriages are awesome to be present for, and family marriages even more so. You may remember, as mentioned in this post, I embarrass myself on such occasions. I inherited a weepy gene from my grandfather. After the events of last Tuesday, I am convinced that not only have I inherited the gene, but that it has since mutated in an alarming fashion. After the blubbering episode ignited by the spiritual happenings at my oldest brother's sealing, I was sure that had I just not tried to take steadying breaths, I could have avoided making such embarrassing sobbing noises. Considering what happened on Tuesday, I'm certain there's nothing I can do to avoid embarrassing myself.
Let me paint for you the picture. Temples are beautiful. The peaceful presence of the spirit is immensely strong in the temple. The sealing of loved ones is one of the most joyous events to ever witness, knowing that your family is being tied together for eternity. It's an amazing experience for everyone involved! Such things elicit strong emotions. The stronger the emotion, the harder I cry and the harder it is and the longer it takes to stop. I tried the entire time to keep from crying! But can you blame a weepy girl when she's in the temple, taking part in that glorious spirit, seeing her brother glow even though she can only see the side of his face, seeing his brand new wife and her brand new sister glowing just as bright, and she's surrounded by loved ones?? And when things culminate at the end and she gets to hug the newly sealed couple...can you really blame her for crying?
Still, I wish I didn't have to make embarrassing noises...Have you ever seen Sense & Sensibility, the one with Emma Thompson?? Hang on, let me see if the clip I want is on youtube...
Yep, that's the kind of noises I was making in the quiet halls of the temple. After the first one jumped out of my throat as I exited the room I remembered the whole no-steadying-breaths thing, clamped my mouth shut, and tried taking small breaths through my nose. To my surprise, the noises didn't stop! I put one hand over my mouth and nose, then both hands, pressing harder and harder, trying to quiet the noises and calm down. Nothing helped. It's like the sobs were jumping straight through my neck. When I realized that there was nothing I could do to stop the noises, I suddenly was struck by how funny the situation was. This realization did not help as now I was fighting the noises combined with giggles. It would have been downright hilarious had I not been in the temple, ruining the reverent atmosphere.
All I can say now is, I'm glad it's over, but if I had to endure the embarrassment again in order to be there at such a wonderful sealing- I would.
I am so thankful for temples. I am so grateful that my brother and his wife (did I mention how ridiculously giddy I am to have another sister?!?) chose to be sealed in the temple. I am endlessly thankful that I got to be there. I'm so thankful to be related to so many wonderful people. I'm thankful for my husband who made it such a special trip. And above all, I'm thankful for such a loving Heavenly Father and His incredible Plan of Happiness.
What are you thankful for today?
1 comment:
That was an awfully fun post Linds. I laughed and laughed. And don't worry - you only have one more brother to be married in the temple :)
And besides, I think it's sweet :)
Post a Comment