Tag: welding link

Sage Laura Quackenbush 9/3/22

I’ve long anticipated this moment. I didn’t know what it would be like to have my heart split into another section. I talked about when Ivy was born, how my world flipped upside down. I’ve heard that the feeling of having a second child is incommensurable. How can you describe loving two things so much?

Sage Laura

I’ll be honest, when Sage was born, it wasn’t what I expected.

The love for Sage, compared with my love for Ivy – it is different, and yet so the same. This isn’t a contradiction but, I think, a profound truth. I can’t help but think of Ivy as I look at Sage. I love them both so much. I see a glimpse of how Heavenly Father can feel.

I can imagine how my Heavenly Father can see me and love me so much. And as He sees me, He thinks about my mom and my dad, my siblings, my wife, my children. When I look at Sage, I’m reminded how much I love Ivy, and vice versa. It is a welding link of love. This doesn’t diminish the love at all. It expands it.

It’s the best I can put into words what having a second daughter was like.

My love for Beth expands in these moments too.

I couldn’t understand how I could love Beth more, or how I could love someone like I loved Ivy. I couldn’t imagine how my heart could split in three. But now I realize, it’s not splitting. It’s expanding. And with it, my understanding of Heavenly Father is expanding. I understand that His heart and love can’t possibly split for all of us. It expands for all of us. That’s how He can be the definition of love, He has so much to love. His heart has expanded beyond our comprehension. This is what I realized when I looked at Sage. My heart expanded a proportionate amount to how it expanded when Ivy came into my life.

3 girls

I got to speak to Ivy today. I pointed at her and told her, “You’re my girl, and I love you so much. And guess what? I have three girls!” Ivy’s eyes got wide, one of my favorite things she does. I continued, “I have Sage, and I have your mom, 3 girls! One Ivy, two Sage, three Mom. I love you all so much, my three girls.”

It’s a phenomenal feeling. Any feeling that helps me to understand Heavenly Father more is amazing and special to me.

I’ll be interested to read my 12/4/20 Ivy post after writing this to see how they compare. Right now, I am full of gratitude. Sometimes I can’t believe that God has given us this gift, His most powerful gift. He has trusted me to take care of His daughters while here. They become my daughters, but always His as well. This brings me so much comfort. I want my daughters to know that they’re never alone. I am always here for them, and so is their Father in Heaven. They’ll never be without a dad.

I went back and re-read that post of Ivy’s birth. There are some things I wrote about Ivy that, if Sage ever looks back and reads this, I want her to know apply to her also. My two girls.

From that post –

“When I first saw Ivy James Quackenbush my heart expanded, my world flipped upside down. In an instant I realized I would do anything, I would give my life without a second thought and at a moment’s notice for that beautiful soul. She was perfect, so beautiful.

I wish I could put it into words, but they’re not enough. My life as I knew it was over. And I knew it. This little thing was the new center. The center of my universe- along with Beth. (Now I have three centers to my universe).

I couldn’t stop staring at Ivy. The gravitational pull of the universe had changed.

Sage

The thoughts I hadn’t let start because her coming had always been surreal started to flood my mind: I’m going to play basketball with her. I hope she loves basketball. We’ll play together. We’ll be best friends. I hope I never hurt her. I hope I can always protect her. (Now they’re my two best friends. Ivy is my MVP and Sage is my DPOY).

How does Heavenly Father love me? I’m a little closer to understanding today. I’m a little closer to understanding what true love is.”

I’ve realized something else now that Sage jas been with us 5 days. Yes, my world flipped upside down when I saw each of them. Yes, the gravitational pull was palpable. But what really develops that love into a bond truly unbreakable is the countless hours laying on my chest, the first grin that I get to see, the hours of bouncing and burping, the feeding, the watching them grow. I think this is why the motherhood bond is so powerful. Mothers often get more of these experiences than fathers, unfortunately. It is these moments that unite us to our children for eternity. These are the favorite moments of my life. When Sage lays on my chest and instantly falls asleep, I’m reminded I’ll do anything for her. I’m reminded how much I love her.

I love my family so much.

September 8, 2022
The Life Beyond
The Life Beyond by Robert L. Millett and Joseph Fielding McConkie Copyright 1986.

I recently was asked by two friends who have different religious beliefs from me, what do you believe happens to a person when they die?

This is the great question right? One of the 3 great questions.
1. Where did I come from?
2. Why I am I here?
3. Where am I going?
What a world we’d live in if every conversation we ever had started with that question:

Hi, my name is Brayden. Say, what do you think happens to us when we die?

Wouldn’t that be great! Less discussion about politics, sports, and tv. What amazing conversations could come about from that question.

It amazes me how many people in the world float through life without knowing any sort of answer to these questions. It’s no wonder we’re in a world that seems untethered from any understanding, sense of reality, or sense of meaning. What’s worse than all those who don’t know the answer to these questions is those that don’t even ask the question. It baffles my mind that so many live on this earth, day by day, moment by moment, without daily stopping to ponder: why am I here?

I believe the reason for this attitude by many people and much of society is due to a feeling that there is no answer. No one can know so why ask? I believe every person has asked these questions at some point. They eventually determine it’s unknowable and move on. I believe this cuts us off from growth. How can we grow to our full potential if we have no understanding of our true potential? How can we reach our true potential if we believe this whole life is for no purpose or reason? How can we reach our full potential if we don’t even know if there’s something after all this? In that case, what’s the point?

That’s why when this question comes up I internally jump for joy. I know many skeptics, doubters – ye with little faith – still say, “you can’t really know.” I don’t care. I know! I know where I come from. I know why I’m here. I know where I’m going.

It’s one of my greatest wishes that every person on this earth knew the same. I believe it would make people happier. I believe it would make the world a better place. It’s why I’m writing this. To share what I know.

The Life Beyond is a book I recently finished by one of my favorite scholars. Robert Millet was a panelist on the youtube video series I’ve used to study the lectures on faith. I’ve seen Joseph Fielding McConkie on many of the books I intend to read.

This book details everything we know about The Life Beyond. Through scripture, modern revelation, prophets, and all other light and knowledge we’ve received, they go into great detail about what happens after we die.

Could there be a more important book?

Can you believe this book exists? Can you believe you’re not reading it right now?

Hundreds of millions stumble around in darkness, with fear of death and wonderment about life. Here is scripture, from God, light and knowledge, revelation, that answers the most important questions in this life.

For those with little understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this book would be like feeding a steak to a newborn. Milk before meat. I understand that. Still, why isn’t everyone reading it? If anyone reading this has ever asked, why am I here? I invite you to read this book. Then ask questions. It can change your life.

To conclude I’ll share one excerpt from the book that I enjoyed.

“The Family Unit Beyond the Veil

Paul said, ‘I bow my knees,’ as do we all, ‘unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14-15). In a manifestation to Brigham Young after his death, Joseph Smith told his successor to be sure to instruct the Saints to keep the Spirit of the Lord, promising that if they would do so, ‘they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in confusion.’ Brigham also said that Joseph showed him the pattern, ‘how they were in the beginning.’ He said that he could not describe it but that there must yet be ‘a perfect chain from Father Adam to his latest posterity.’

During an illness, Jedediah M. Grant visited the spirit world two nights in succession. He reported a perfect order and government that existed there, saying that the ‘righteous gathered together,’ that there were ‘no wicked spirits among them,’ and that they were ‘organized in family capacities.’ ‘To my astonishment,’ he said, ‘when I looked at families, there was a deficiency in some, there was a lack, for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here.’” (Emphasis added)

What a marvel it is we have these truths and how lucky we are. May we all fulfill our callings here, and start by asking, why am I here?
June 30, 2022