Mourning with Those that Mourn

I have come across countless examples of those who have lost someone very dear to them who believe that their loved one tries to reach out to them through an object or action of some kind to let them know that he/she is there with them. Maybe I'm not explaining that well. I'll give some examples.

My friend, Stacey, lost her nephew recently. The Garrison family believes that Hudson is making his presence known whenever they come across feathers. My sister in law lost her son, Gavin, and believes that hummingbirds are tender mercies letting her know that he is there watching over her. I have another friend who lost her mother. When she finds pennies in random places, she believes that her mother is telling her hi. Michelle explained it like this. It's not that she believes the hummingbird is Gavin, but just that it's a sign from Heaven that Gavin is still ever present in her life. These stories always have a background. For instance, after Gavin passed away, there was a green hummingbird (Gavin's favorite color was green) that stayed at the window near her for a very long time. She felt then Gavin's presence, and that hummingbird was comforting.

In the children's movie, Moana, the Grandmother tells Moana that after she dies, she hopes to come back as a stingray. Later on in the movie, her grandma passes away. At the same time, Moana has embarked on a difficult task and looks back across the ocean to her home. You can see in that moment that her faith in herself is faltering. She has been called to an impossible task and she glances back to the comforts of her home and she is mourning the loss of her grandmother. The music climaxes and we see a stingray swoop underneath her boat. The imagery is powerful! In our moments of desperation, our loved ones who have passed on before will be with us. Heavenly Father has promised us angels who will come to our aid. Moana goes on her journey. At another point, all seems lost. About to give up, more stingrays come, she turns around, and there is her grandma's spirit standing alongside of her. She communicates with her and promises Moana that she is with her. There's a third time that a stingray appears. After the impossible journey is accomplished and Moana is triumphant, she's seen with her family voyaging across the ocean. It's a happy ending. Everyone is rejoicing and happy. Moana reaches down to touch the water and a stingray swims up to her hand and allows her to touch it. The viewer is given the message that Grandma Nala is there in the happy moments too. The movie is a great example of what I am stumbling to say.

I wonder how things like this are orchestrated on the other side of the veil.

There must be something to all of these stories, because they are so plentiful. I'm not discrediting them at all, I believe that the spirit of the Holy Ghost has the power to comfort us in our times of need and that same Spirit has the power to communicate to our spirits how that comfort is to be received or through what. I believe Michelle when she says that the spirit communicated with her that somehow Gavin was able to share that hummingbird with her to comfort her. I don't know how it works, I would like to know someday. 

I would hope that someday when I'm gone, it'll be something that reminds them of me. Like a happy flower or fiery sunset. I don't know, maybe it's something that happens more organically than that. What I do know is this: Jesus Christ has commanded us to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and mourn with those that mourn. I believe that this is an eternal principle. Our loved ones are anxiously engaged in our lives and comfort us in times when we need comfort. Somehow they're able to reach across the veil and do so in a very personal and spiritual way. Mourning with those that mourn is eternal.