This terrible, wonderful love

Whenever Mark is out of town the kids and I watch movies.

Jenn and I like to watch movies that the boys don't necessarily enjoy watching with us.
Among my very favorite is Sarah Plain and Tall.
Specifically the first and second one watched in succession.
I love to watch Sarah as she puts herself out there,
seeks to understand others and falls in love.
I love the way she is true to who she is
and they both learn to value their differences.
In Skylark (the second one) she is separated from her love for a time and when they are reunited she tries to explain how she has felt as they have been apart.
She says something like, "I never knew..., this terrible love... I just never knew"
I know exactly what she's talking about.
When you have given your heart to another and they give theirs to you,
there comes the realization that you have become such a part of them and they of you that without them you do not feel whole.
When you realize how incredibly connected and interdependent you have become
the thought of being parted from them,
for days or months or for the rest of your life
is a terrible feeling.

But at the same time I would not give up one minute
of the time I have with Mark
or any of my family to avoid this terrible love, this connectedness.
It makes me so much more thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For the power of the priesthood on the Earth today
which can bind families together...not just for this life
but for the life after this one too... forever.
That means that any separation from my family members
will, in reality, only be temporary
because I know that when this life is over
I will have all eternity to be with them.
Never to be separated again.
That kind of love truly is wonderful.

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