Perspective

This word didn't really mean much to me until today. As me and my mom were about to test drive a car we had been looking at, we get a call from my Grandma. My aunt had just called my mom 5min earlier, but she didn't answer because she was driving. My Grandma is a talker so I told her we were a little busy. She then asked if she could just talk to my mom for a minute. The tone in her voice was what caught me off guard. I said sure and handed the phone to my mom. I knew something was wrong the moment my Grandma said "just for a second." Then as my mom talked to her I knew someone was either very hurt, or had passed away. To my dismay, I was right. My Great Uncle and Aunt (Grandma's sister and brother in law) had just died in a car accident. I was shocked. Who wouldn't be? They were on their way here from Arizona to visit my grandma and had both died instantly in a car accident.
That was about all the new that we heard because my grandma hardly knew anything either. We quickly finished driving the car and headed home. We ended up meeting my sisters in town to drive to my Grandma's together.

We got to my Grandma's and hugged everyone and they showed us the news (Here is the small story they did on the news about it.) which had their story on it. They didn't have much, but we got some more information.

They had swerved/drifted into the emergency lane where there was a semi truck thing and had hit it straight on. The corner of the truck went always through the back of the car. They were killed instantly. They still do not know how it happened, and probably won't because they weren't able to do an autopsy on my Uncle. My Aunt they might be able to and we think that was because she was probably sleeping and had her seat back. We were guessing my Uncle could have had a stroke or a heart attack because my aunt was obviously still asleep and that is why they might be able to do an autopsy on her. So she wasn't freaking out for him for swerving like she would have. Not knowing is probably one of the hardest things. I mean, I guess we don't need to know. But it is nice to at least have some closure.
Their family is having a hard time with it, well, we all are because it was so sudden. My grandma was getting worried because she was expecting them and had just talked to them 2 hours before the crashed happened. She had dinner ready and everything for them. Their family is coming tomorrow to take care of the bodies and get things organized here, then they have to head back down to Arizona for the funeral.
My grandma is one of the strongest people I know. She has gone through so much. She is now the only one left on her, or my grandpas side of the family. She even lost her son (my dad) and her husband within 4 years of each other. Now she just lost her sister and best friend. I can't imagine the pain she is going through. But she is standing strong, at least for now. I hope she can have a break from all her struggles at least for a little bit. I love her more than anything.
This just put everything into perspective for me. Here we were looking for cars and worrying about silly things like taping someone to a garage or a party. Then you hear the news and immediately everything changes. You realize what is really important in life and stop worrying about the small things that really do not matter. We need to cherish every single day that we are here with our family because you never know when someone might be instantly taken from you. We need to love everyone, and not hold grudges. It's not worth it. Life is too short.
Although this experience has been hard on us, it just reminds us even more that we will be a family forever. As we sat there talking tonight my aunt said, "I need to have a talk with some people up there. Apparently they thought they could take them." I love that we can joke about that, because we know where they are and what they are doing. Being together forever is only made possible though the atonement and gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so blessed to have that knowledge of where our loved ones are.
I am also grateful for prayer, and that we are able to kneel as a family and pray for those we love and pray for strength to just make it through the hardest days. Prayer is real. Prayer is very powerful. I don't know what we would do without that connection to our Father in Heaven.
As we got in the car to come home after my Grandma's we offered a prayer unto our Heavenly Father. I felt the Spirit so strong that I couldn't help but cry. I felt at peace and comforted as I told my Father in Heaven that we knew it was his will and we knew that they were safe in his arms. I know without a doubt that is true. Although it is hard, it's his plan. We just need to live the way we know we are supposed to and trust fully in him, even if we do not understand.