Monday, April 25, 2011

An experience I'll never forget

On the Friday of Easter weekend we were able to spend some time with Justin's family at a picnic lunch at Freestone park. We had a great time being together. The cousins all had so much fun running at the park and also did an egg hunt.

Krista & Ryan & their family joined us for the day & it was so great to spend time with them. That night we headed to the Easter pageant at the Mesa Temple with some of our family. Click here to learn more about the LDS church and pageant. 


There are probably over a thousand people that attend the pageant every night.  
Before the program started, there were cast members that came out to mingle with the people in the crowd. Shephards, Roman soilders, angels, etc. I was talking to Bree about what we were about to see and she seemed very interested. 

We had eaten dinner there and just then I turned to go put our pizza box underneath a chair behind us and when I came back, Bree was gone.
I checked underneath chairs, in our stroller, next to her cousins...
She was gone!
Well, I found out later she decided to go on a walk by herself...in a sea of about 1000 people. 
I tried to be as calm as I could. The first thought that came to my mind is "you are on the Temple grounds surrounded by nice people, she'll be okay."

 I told Justin & our family to start looking for her and everyone spread out. Then started asking people if they saw a little girl... when we didn't immediately find her, the worry started to set in.

After about 10 minutes of intense worry and fear I saw Krista carrying her back to where we were sitting. 
She said a nice couple had seen her wandering around and took her to where the lost children are taken (the Flagpole for future reference).

When I asked her where she was going she told me, "I want see Jesus Mommy."

She thought that she might get to see a glimpse of Jesus up close. What a sweet girl. I couldn't help but shed a few tears. Tears of relief & gratitude that we found her and tears that she knows who our Savior is and wants to be with Him.

Through the whole program that night, she was so entranced with the music and was sure to point out where Jesus was standing. She also loved the angels and the dance of the 10 virgins; because they were princesses, of course.

 I can't help but think she was surrounded by angels when she went through her cancer
almost 2 years ago. And I think that's why she has such a special relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because I know He carried her through those months of pain and suffering. 
And He is still with her today.

I'm grateful we can celebrate the real meaning of Easter which is our Savior's resurrection and celebrate the knowledge that He lives and will be with us always. 
Happy Easter!



8 comments:

brownymama said...

Why do you always make me cry???! That was a beautiful comment she made and I'm sure she does have a deeper relationship with her Savior. Jesus loves the little children. (:

Steph said...

That is the worst feeling when one of your kids is lost (spoken by a mom who's had that happen more than once!)

I have to agree with the first comment--you do make me cry when I read your posts. Bree is such a special girl.

DIY REDS! said...

We were there that night too. I am so glad everything turned out alright and thank you for this beautiful post.

mistyc0x said...

holy cow kari, this is a great post!

what a princess SHE is!!! :) lovely!

Allyson said...

Yikes! Those moments are always so frightening. We've had a few of them with Brig too. I love her reason for taking a walk though. What a sweet spirit she has! Love it!

Kelly said...

Wow, Kari! I love that little girl of yours! So close to the vale! She is such an Angel. And she had some more angels that found her for you that night! Scary!
I miss your cute face! xoxo

JakenDebbie said...

Oh man, Kari. I am totally getting teary just reading this!! I know that feeling of losing a little one in a crowded place and it is the worst!! I have a wanderer, she makes me nervous every time we go out. :) I'm so glad everything turned out okay!

Also, I MISS going to the Easter pageant! We were going to try to make it down this year, but it didn't' work out.

Melissa Bosen said...

Kari, I lost Aiden a couple of years ago when we were at the Temple to see the Christmas lights. One moment we were all there together inside the visitor's center...then he was gone! We looked inside and outside for several minutes. My hands started to tingle and go numb...seriously felt like I was going to pass out. But then we found him on the other side of the partition next to the Christus statue! They had closed it to give the message to the tour group and he just followed them in. There he was (age 3) just sitting next to a man on the bench...listening to the sister missionaries talk about Jesus. He wasn't concerned in the slightest that he was among strangers.
I think it took 5 years off my life though!
Anyway, I love going to the pageant and sitting close so that the boys can see everything well. They all just sit and pay attention. I love that because I feel like I never sat that well for my mom when I was little! Well, you know we left Trey at home though! ha Maybe when he's 10I'll take him. :)