A V-day to remember, for all the wrong reasons...

This Valentine's Day will go down in infamy for me. It was, by far, the most depressing Valentine's Day I have ever had. No, Lou did not neglect me - we never go all out, but we always give a little something to each other.

It was depressing because we spent the majority of the day at a funeral for an 8-month old baby boy. He died suddenly and unexpectedly in his crib, during his nap a week ago today. They think he perhaps choked to death on some baby cereal that he spit up during his sleep (he was congested from a cold and couldn't breathe through his nose). It was a tragic event, or course, for not only the family, but for all who know them. The parents of the baby are co-teachers in our primary, so I have served with them for almost a year now (I am in the Primary presidency, by the way, in case I didn't mention that before), and have gotten to know both of them pretty well. The mother and I spent countless hours together in the mother's room nursing our babies together.

These two parents are two of the sweetest people that I have ever met - bar none. They are converts to the church (as a result of a pass-along card, of all things), and we recently were blessed enough to join them in the temple to witness them receive their endowments and be sealed to their two children (they have another son who is 2 years old). They are a beautiful, sweet and kind family, and it just broke the hearts of all who knew them to have this happen.

My heart aches for them, and it frustrating to be in this position of helplessness. I put their family's name on the temple prayer roll, bought them a book written by an LDS author on coping with the death of a child and the doctrinal perspectives on the salvation of little children (recommended by another friend who lost a child, too), and am planning to bring them a meal this week, but I keep thinking - is this enough? Does any of this really even make a difference? They put their baby in the ground yesterday. Does making them a casserole and giving them a book really fix that? Or even make a dent in their sorrow? I have this aching need to just fix it all, to make all the pain go away, which is ridiculous because I know that I can't.

I am grateful to know what I do about the plan of salvation, and that their baby is not gone forever. He went home early, that's all, and they WILL be reunited as a family someday, but I'm sure it will be a long time before that brings them any comfort. They were very strong at the funeral yesterday, but I couldn't help but notice that they both looked just...broken.

Though moments like this can be challenging to our faith, it does bring me comfort to know that, despite tragedies like this, our Father in Heaven DOES love us. We cannot know why we have to endure the trials that we have in this life, but we can lean on Him for comfort and understanding on some level. God does not like to see us suffer, and I know that He feels all of our pain and heartache. He does not protect us from all the tragedies of this life because He knows that there are things that we have to experience to make us who we are meant to be - I truly believe that.

Please mention this family in your prayers today.