This is something many of us have dealt with, whether it was a pet, friend, family member, etc..

Last year I went to a camp and was in too big of a rush to say goodbye to my dog like I usually do. When my parents picked me up they said she was sick, and once we got home, she was already gone. I never got to say goodbye and she was all alone when she passed. I've lost lots of other pets, but none of them hit me as hard as when she died. I put a collage of pictures of her in my other story full of randomness. She's my background to my iPod. I miss her so much and think of her every single day.

As far as people go, I've lost a family member I never got to meet, and when I was a kid, I lost an elderly lady that my mom, sister, and I would always go visit.

Then, yesterday someone I was far closer to than the other people I spoke of passed away. I was sitting on the couch drawing when I saw an EMS truck speed by. She lived near us and I had a horrible feeling in my gut when I saw it.

A few minutes later, my brother told me that the EMS truck was picking her up. Her husband found no pulse and quickly called them.

I was heartbroken. I hurried back to the couch and began to pray. I started with pleading that she'd be alright, and that she'd live, but part-way through my prayer, I had this feeling that she was gone, and that her family is who I needed to pray for. But, it was a peaceful feeling. Then, I began to pray for her family.

No more than a minute after I finished my prayer, my sister came in and told me that she'd passed. I already knew she did, but I was just in denial until she actually told me.

I then went to my room and began to cry. Then, I got the urge to write my feelings in my journal. So I did. Then, I just felt her with me. I can't really explain it, but I just knew she was.

I was at peace, so was she. And as I was writing, I wasn't even meaning to write this, but my hand wrote it on it's own.

I wrote that she was where she needed to be. Heavenly Father wanted his daughter to come home. We needed her as well, but I knew that he needed her even more.

That's how everyone is. 

God doesn't want to see us suffer. It pains him to see us like that, but it's a part of life. No matter how much we don't want it to happen, it will.

He loves us and will bring us comfort at times like these. And many people will say that whoever you lost is gone forever, but they truly aren't. Everybody's different. My mom has the ability to see them on occasion. I dream about them or feel them there. 

I just know that they are always with you, watching over you.

1. "After a loved one passes... Be encouraged by their passing and legacy. Instead of crying, live an inspired, spiritual and happy life like they did when they were here. Live each day with encouragement knowing that they are proud and smiling down on you from heaven." -Matt Fraser

2. "Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy."

3. "Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch." -Jack Thorne (From Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)

4. "Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day... unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear."

5. "Jesus said to her, 'I am the Resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'" -John 11: 25-26