The single most important thing we will ever do

I promised my sister in law, Sabrina, that I would write a post about our June Disneyland trip but, to be quite honest, I am still trying to process the whole experience of doing a giant Amusement Park with two little boys for an entire week. One day, I will buckle down and write it. Tonight is not the night though.

Luke and I have been married for five years September 5th. We have been together for 7 years come March. We have known each other for 15 years. He was my best friends twin brother, then my teenage crush, then my friend, then my pursuer, then my boyfriend, fiancé and husband. Now, my best friend and the father of my sons. The guy who knows me better than anyone on this Earth. And now, come September, he will be my eternal companion. I know some of my friends are not LDS/Mormon and don't exactly understand what I am talking about so I am going to attempt to explain in plain and basic terms.

My church believes that there are sacred acts and ordinances that we can perform in our most precious and sacred buildings we call temples. You've probably seen them since they are everywhere. Here are a few pictures of some of my favorite ones:

The Salt Lake City Temple. A powerful place!

My personal favorite, the Logan temple. I cannot tell you how many times I visited this place in college!

The Portland temple. The temple I attended from age 12 until 14, when the Medford temple was built.

The Medford temple. This is the temple my family and I will be visiting very soon!

 

Anyhow, here's a little back story. Luke was married in a temple once before when he was 18. The girl he married was unfaithful and they had a short marriage; they were divorced by 19, (I think he was almost 20.) When Luke and I got married, we were told that we would be married civilly, (by a man ordained to do and until "death do you part") and after a years time, we could be sealed in the Temple. I have always believed that God does not give us more than we can handle, but the next five years were very difficult for Luke and I. Now, Luke and I as a couple have been great. It's incredibly easy to be married to such an incredible person and we've had a very happy and successful marriage and life together. Each time we added to our family, we only grew more in love with each other and with our two most awesome kids. But, when it came to getting to the temple to be sealed, it was a huge challenge. It seems Satan was working on al the shortcomings and weaknesses of others and getting Luke's previous sealed cancelled so that he could be sealed to me was a trial. Through that, however, Luke's testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and his own experiences, trials, sins and repentance, he became a pillar of light and love for the boys and I. You'd have a hard time finding a guy with a better knowledge of our church and it's history than Luke. Anyhow, May 5th, I received a letter from the First Presidency of our church, (for those who don't know, that is our Prophet and his disciples), saying that the cancellation was cleared and Luke and I could finally be sealed to each other and our boys. I collapsed in the porch chair and bawled. Finn even walked up to me and cupped my faces in his hands, asking if I was OK, (he's such a great kid.) Now that we have everything needed to perform this sacred ordinance, Luke and I are headed to Medford, OR to be sealed to each other and Finn and Dietrich.

Now, what does it mean to be sealed? I don't know all the details, seeing as how sacred the ordinance is, but I do know that it means Luke and I will be together not just until we die and leave this Earth. We believe it means we will ALWAYS be together. We will be Luke and Liz in the next life. It also means Finn, Dietrich and any other future children will be ours in the next life as well. I cannot express how much joy that brings to my heart. My three boys will always be mine, even after we leave this Earth. If Luke or I are separated by death, he and I can take comfort in knowing that we will be together again soon. It makes me feel so at peace and so happy to know that I will always be his companion and that our kids will always be our kids.

I hope that clarifies things for anyone who was wondering when I announced Luke and my sealing. I love all of my family and friends and have never felt anything but love and encouragement from all of you. I will be taking lots of pictures of the day and will be posting them here afterwards so stay tuned! And just for fun: pictures of my two adorable children. ;)