Goodbye Grams

My heart aches as I type this, because even the simple act of composing this post makes my Grandma's death more of a reality.
Yesterday morning around 5:30 am, my sweet Grandma passed away. I was fortunate to get to be with her until the end and during those last few hours of her life a peace settled over me. A calm feeling that caught me entirely off guard.
A peace born from the knowledge that this life isn't the end. Grams is now with her sweetheart. She is happy, whole and healthy. She isn't suffering anymore and for that I am immensely grateful.
I'm grateful for the simple doctrinal truth that "FAMILIES ARE FOREVER"
I had the sharing time lesson today at church and the title of the Lesson was "Families are blessed through sacred temple ordinances" This lesson took on a whole new meaning for me. I'm grateful the prophet Elijah restored the sealing power to Joseph Smith all those years ago. I'm grateful that my Grandma and Grandpa took advantage of those temple blessings and were sealed together, that my dad and his siblings were sealed to them and that I am sealed to my parents as well as my husband and sweet son. We truly are an eternal chain that can never be broken and this gives me more comfort than anything else.
My Grams was the most stylish, classy, sweet, honest, empathetic, loving, compassionate, sweet woman I have ever known. No one was better at making you feel happy when you were down, beautiful on your worst hair day, or more loved just because you are you. She always knew just what to say and just how to say it. And because she said it, you knew it was true. She didn't take slack from anyone and she always expected you to give life your best. She taught me to take pride in my accomplishments and to never be afraid to try new things. So much of Grams shaped who I am- or most of the time- showed me who I wanted to become. She touched the lives of so many people. You couldn't meet her and not love her. She had a way of making new acquaintances feel like old friends. I'm so grateful for the example she was for me.
I don't know how I can possibly fill the void left in my life because of her death, but I'm determined to figure it out and to smile again. I will smile everyday - because Grams wouldn't have wanted it any other way.