Scary Stuff

http://www.kutv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=56862@kutv.dayport.com&navCatId=5

The news story above involved our good friend Ryan (Jason's old college roomate in Utah)and his fiance. They are about a month away from being married, and were involved in this very scary car accident. They are doing fine, but it really is a miracle that they walked away from this accident with only minor injuries (broken nose and ankle). Jason talked to Ryan this afternoon and asked them if they were going to delay their wedding because of the accident. "No way!" was his reply. Good for them.
When I hear of stuff like this happening, it makes me so incredibly grateful for the opportunity that we, as members of the church, have to be sealed for eternity in the temple. There are so many things out in this world that can pull relationships and marriages apart - even fluke things like car accidents. And with eternal marriage, however tragic these things can be, they are only small trials that we will have to face in the scheme of something so much bigger - eternity. I am so happy that Ryan and his fiance Sarah were able to make it out of this okay and that they still have the chance to be sealed together in the temple next month. It is a wonderfully bittersweet reminder of the brevity of this life and the sweet blessing that we have to be sealed together for eternity.
When Jason and I first started dating, it was winter time and we were involved in an accident (pretty minor compared to Ryan's) on the freeway on our way to Salt Lake to go see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. We hit some fresh snow and ended up doing a 360 across the freeway, stopping parallel with the median, facing the opposite direction with cars swerving to miss us in all directions. One car did T-Bone us, and luckily we just walked away a little "concussious" (yes, I just made up that word) and sore. I have a very vivid memory of this event because as it was happening, it all seemed to go in slow motion and I remember Jason reaching over and grabbing my hand as we spun across the freeway. As we stopped, the other car T-Boned us and I hit my head on the window. Jason immediately asked me if I was okay and, even though my head was throbbing, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that we were all okay. When all this was done, we just sat there in silence, in awe that we had narrowly escaped what could have been a very serious accident. It really put things into perspective for me. It immediately made me want to improve in all aspects of my life, and really "got the ball rolling" in Jason and my relationship. I knew that I loved him and that I wanted to spend eternity with him and that we had better do it sooner than later because life is just too short to dilly dally around getting sealed for eternity to my best friend. I guess, in a way, (even though it was really scary) it was a blessing because it gave me a whole new outlook on life and the importance of making eternal decisions and not just what's convenient at the time.
I also remember Jason's friend saying something like, "Well, it's a good thing I paid my tithing this week!" So...the moral of the story is...pay your tithing? Well, kind of...but no. I am just really grateful for the knowledge I have that life doesn't end when we die and that it's just the beginning of a very wonderful future.