Was it like Picking a Track?

This is a bit long but totally worth the read if you ask me :)

After spending the past week with my family, both immediate and extended, I was reminded of how blessed I am to have these amazing people in my life. We had a long drive home and being as that I did not have to drive I was able to spend time looking out the window and just think, I thought much about the previous days events. My mind drifted to thoughts of Heaven and what my Aunt might be doing at that moment, and then the idea came to me. When I was in pre-mortal life and they were assigning families, was there a form to fill out with spaces for 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice? Did we have a list of names to look through and choose who we wished to be in our charge? Were there conversations with our closest friends to make similar requests so we could be in the same family or at least extended family? Were there Zone variances for special situations? Was it like when I chose the track Alexis would be on for school?

So let's say it was (probably not but just for fun) let's say I got the list of names and it said (in random order) Jack Holler, Amy Novakovich, Amy Jenkins, Merle Bowman, Hilary Novakovich, Rachel Bullough, Alyssa Holler, Lyle Hileman, DonAnn Mortensen, and a whole host of other names, and if I chose this list than that meant we would be family. Perhaps it didn't say who would be my sister or mother or father or cousin, but in some way shape or form, for better or worse we would be family. If this was the case then I bet I scanned the list for names for what I thought were "good ones" and then swooped it up so no one else could take it. I can picture myself quietly folding it and walking away from the crowd that had formed when they announced that the lists had been posted. Maybe I located my close friends and we compared our lists to make sure we would be connected somehow or we asked Heavenly Father to provide a way for us to meet up on earth.

Perhaps the lists were assigned and we had to wait for our names to be called to find out who we got and then we all got together to see if we had some of the same names. When I was younger my sisters and I use to talk about how the birth order was figured out, did we stand in line and wait our turn, did Alyssa cut the line? Did Janna get confused and think that the front was the back? Did Emily get in the wrong line and not figure it out for quite sometime and did Jack worry when he realized he was the only boy in our line? I guess I have always found the thought and images of it all to be entertaining and fun, I can just picture all of us up there working it out!

So however it worked out I am so grateful for all the names that ended up on my list or maybe the list that I was added to. It was wonderful to be with many of my family members during the funeral, being in their company was comforting and easy. On my Mom's side it seems as though there are millions of us, many of which share the same name, we have all ended up with a very sarcastic sense of humor and it turns into a comedy club when you get us going. There is much laughter and light hearted teasing that makes being family a joy not a chore! No matter how long it has been since our last visit we can pick up where we left off and all because we share a bit of DNA! There are doctors and hair stylists, artists and teachers, stay at home mom's, real estate brokers, military servicemen, nurses and fisherman. With so many different personalities, interests, talents and looks, it seems like we wouldn't have enough in common to be friends but none of the differences seem to stand out, it's more about what we have in common and that's our gene pool! What a gift and a blessing to know that these are the people that I will spend the eternities laughing and learning with! To all my family I am so glad we were on the same list!!! To all my friends who are like family I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for knowing I would need you to get through this life easier!!

Now go have peace all over the world and do yoga. Hummmmmmmm Hummmmm (in full lotus) :)

Joke aside to learn more about being an eternal family click here

Link to Web album for Aunt Annetta's funeral