A funeral without dying!

A funeral without Dying?

Doug has been and continues to be overwhelmed with the out pouring of love and concern in his behalf.  He told me the other day, "it is like having a funeral without dying." We have always thought this would be a great idea.  If we really knew how many people cared and all the nice things people said about us....It would give us a boost. Instead we have to hear all these great things when we are on the other side listening to our own funeral:)

My sister's father-in-law, who recently passed away, said something so funny to her once. He said, "Mel, you are going to have a huge funeral." It was a very random thought of his but he was referring to how many friends she has.  We still get a great laugh out of  this.  It was a good "Dennisism."  I was thinking this about Doug...  With the amount of people who have visited, wrote us cards and have told us they were praying for him.... I thought...Doug would have a HUGE funeral:)  

Another thing I really have been thinking about is how many people would openly tell Doug, "I love you."  Family, friends (both close and distant),  and neighbors.  They would even tell me the same thing.  Why is it that we have to wait for a trial or affliction to tell someone how we feel.  Why don't we say these words more often and when we feel them? Are we ashamed we love people? Elder David A. Bednar shared his thoughts on love during this talk, 'More Diligent and Concerned at Home".  He had some excellent points.  He said, "We can begin to become more diligent and concerned at home by telling the people we love that we love them. Such expressions do not need to be flowery or lengthy. We simply should sincerely and frequently express love...  We should remember that saying “I love you” is only a beginning. We need to say it, we need to mean it, and most importantly we need consistently to show it. We need to both express and demonstrate love."  (I want to add that not only at home but in our everyday life with the ones we associate with and love.)

Henry B. Eyring said, "Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others."

I want us all to think about this a little more.  It goes along with my life motto, "living without regrets."  Take the time to say the things to people you wouldn't normally say!  If they weren't here tomorrow, what would you wish you would have told them?

President Thomas S. Monson recently counseled: “Often we assume that [the people around us] must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. … We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us” (“Finding Joy in the Journey,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 86).