“There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.”

Crowds all over the world gathered this last week to celebrate women. I wonder if they would have known women like the woman I celebrate today if those gatherings would have been different, or if the type of woman they celebrated might have been different.

Today I celebrate a woman who was kind, obedient, strong, influential, funny, strict, and steadfast. A woman who was brave and tenacious. A woman who I barely knew before her Alzheimer's and a woman I grew to love so much in-spite of it and because of it.

She couldn't remember my name, who I was, what I was doing with my life or little details like that but what she could remember was telling of the woman she was: She remembered that there is a God who loves us and requires us to be good (something I think much of the world has forgotten). She remembered she could return to Him and see her parents again. She remembered to teach me and remind me over and over about the importance of getting married to the right man, in the right place, at the right time. She remembered (maybe only in word) that the Sabbath day was her favorite day. She remembered to share and to give (even if I was allergic to the candies she always wanted to share with me and if she'll never have that $1000 dollars she promised me haha). She remembered to surround herself with beauty like flowers, pearl necklaces, peace, and my sisters-in-law :). She remembered to accentuate the positive eliminate the negative and to not mess with Mr. In-between. She remembered how to dance, how to laugh...and she remembered that every meal should end with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


I watched her once a couple years ago, after listening with me to a talk online about the importance of studying the Book of Mormon, pick up a copy and start to slowly read it aloud. I know it didn't make sense to her and after a few minutes she forgot why she was doing it but what a beautiful glimpse into her testimony of living prophets, obedience, and scripture study.

She's home now, she made it! A truly remarkable woman. What I would give to be a fly on the walls of paradise this morning and witness that sweet reunion. She is a true light and I will love her forever. Grandma, see you on the other side!