Glimpses of eternity

It's been a special/insane/exhausting/awesome December, one full of both stress-related sleep loss and excitement-related sleep loss.

The headaches, constant pounding in the basement, frantic planning, and frustrations of the past few months have already dimmed though, being brightly overshadowed by the tender mercies given to us over the past few weeks. Despite living in an imperfect world, God does grant us small glimpses into eternity throughout our lives; this month I saw three of those glimpses.

First was when I held Jaxson for the first time. Even though he was so small (about 4 1/2 pounds), I couldn't help but marvel at how perfect he was. I held in my arms a precious gift sent straight from heaven, a little miracle who just hours before was in the presence of God.

The second glimpse came when we accompanied Kimberly when she went through the temple for the first time. The line between this life and the next is thinner in the temple, and I felt that difference more poignantly as one more member of our family received the blessings of the endowment.

The third, and perhaps most powerful, glimpse came when I watched Kimberly be sealed to her eternal companion for time and all eternity. It was hard not to feel a bit of that "fullness of joy" that we are told we'll have all the time in exaltation. It was probably the most perfect half hour I have ever experienced.

These three experiences serve as a great reminder to me that God didn't just dump us here on Earth and leave us to figure out our own way to get back to him; we have been given so many opportunities to feel his presence on a more-than-Telestial level, whether it be in celebrating new life or in performing sacred ordinances. Even if these glimpses are fleeting, they're powerful enough to sustain us as we strive to live worthy of exaltation.