Ties That Bind

This morning I saw the James Christensen picture Abby posted on Monday, and it reminded me of another James Christensen picture that I love and that has special meaning for me.  It's called 'Ties that Bind'

A few years ago, my dear friend Brecken emailed me the picture along with an email.  She and I were roommates at BYU where we became the very best of friends, and we remain incredibly close although we are (very annoying) living on completely different continents.  To quote her email:

We went to a fireside where James Christensen spoke tonight. My parents were good friends with him, and I have always loved his work so we made the trek over to the east side chapel.... Anyway, he showed a slide of this print and started talking about his wife (Carol) and her best friend. They were roommates in college and loved each other and built each other up, and they have never lived near each other since but they are still connected.

It brought tears to my eyes thinking about how that's like us. That we will have that golden thread that spans the white space. While he was talking Reuben started to fuss, and Justin (separate of my internal monologue) started to tell Reuben that you were on the left and mommy was on the right and he instantly quieted and started listening to the white haired man talk about mommy and Tammy.

So, I love you, and miss you, and wish there wasn't a white space between us, but I am forever grateful for that golden thread that will bind us.

Naturally her email made me cry - because I feel exactly the same way as her - and I was so grateful for that golden thread.  In the gospel sense we are sisters after all, and at the very least we share that golden thread of a common Heavenly Father and a desire to one day return to live with him.  Although of course we also share much more.

And we're planning on having side by side mansions in heaven - so take that white space! :)

So anyway, this morning I was thinking about Brecken, and this picture, and I started to think about some of the other people I'm tied to over a vast distance.  I thought for example, of my Grandma Taylor who's always lived in another state from me, but who I love for her zest and passion for life.  I also thought of my Great Grandmother Lorna Thompson, who I don't remember meeting but who I was named after, and who has always meant an awful lot to me for the women that she was and the life she lead.  I also thought of my Dad's parents who've passed away but who I love so much.  And I thought of my Pop (mum's dad) who has a special spot in my heart and my Grandma Taylor's mother Kathleen Fitzgerald who had such a wonderful love and talent for music and who I can't wait to meet one day.  The list could honestly go on, I have such a rich ancestral heritage and feel such love for so many of them.  We're separated by time and death, but I'm still tied to them through the golden threads of the gospel as well, and I look forward to the day that I'll see them again.

So today I just thought I'd share this special picture with you, and inspire you to think a little about the special people you're tied to over distance or time.  How lucky we are for such people!

xo Tammy