UCLA Part 2

A couple miles away from UCLA is one of our church's temples. My mom has always been religious and very active in our faith. It has been magnified since her disease has been settling in. Since we were all they way out in LA for the day, mom wanted to stop by the temple. Why not? It was something that would make her happy and you have to admit, the view is beautiful.

As we were walking through the visitor's center of the temple, my mom shared with me her feelings about her faith.

"I just definitely have so much faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, too, and I have been praying to him a lot too, so much more lately. I just talk to him, too, and hopefully he hears me. But I definitely have faith in Him."


I can't help but to smile as she shares these things with me. She has such an innocent, childlike faith. Surely this is what Jesus meant when he told us that we ought to have the faith of a little child. There is such a sweet innocence in my mom and in her pure love for and faith in her Savior. Her faith strengthens my own.

I thought it would be nice to get a picture in front of this statue of Christ. Before this picture was taken, mom had a huge grin on her face, looking upward, and her arms were in the air, pointing to Jesus as she declared,

"Jesus! We love you!"

My dad told her to put her arms down for the picture. But I almost wish we'd have gotten that shot to illustrate just how innocent and pure and childlike her love is.

After the picture, as we stood in front of the statue, mom began singing her favorite children's song,

"Jesus said love everyone,
Treat them kindly too.
When your heart is filled with love,
Others will love you."

(On a side note, she also sang this to Jill during her appointment at UCLA because it had popped into her head).

I am so grateful for the faith that my mother has instilled in me since I was a small child. It truly is what gets me through this, and all of, my trials in life. It is hard losing my mom. But I have faith that this will pass. This life is but a small speck on the endless timeline of life. Though the road ahead seems long and hard, I believe that we will be together again in the next life, where she will be free of pain and suffering. She will be in a perfect state again, this time for eternity. Without that knowledge, I don't know how I would get through the day.

I realize that not everybody reading this shares in the same faith as I do, and that's okay!! I am not writing this to offend or to preach about my beliefs. I am writing this to share what brings me peace and comfort through this difficult time, and to share something that is such an important part of my mom's life: her faith in the Lord.