A Foreshadowing

About a month ago, Rob and I went to dinner with a couple who had lost their 4-year-old son in a similar accident. The father asked us, "Looking back now, do you think you should have seen it coming?"

I knew exactly what he meant.

I remember kneeling down by my bed to say a specific prayer just a few weeks before Elle's accident. I had said a similar prayer several times over the years, because my greatest fear was that one of my children would drown or be backed over by a car.

On this particular night, I felt prompted to pray for their protection from harm or accident. I'm not necessarily prone to anxiety, but I was very concerned and remember it as a tearful prayer. I also remember hesitating as I added, "[protect them] ... if it be Thy will."

When I was done, I felt calmer because I had a clear understanding that even if something were to happen, I would know that it was His will.

Looking back on that prayer, I think Heavenly Father wanted me to feel that I had done all that I could do, including pray for Elle's safety, and to reassure me that her death was no accident. I know He could have protected her, and I had specifically asked Him for that blessing. But He honored the plan for her life.

 “The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again.” ^—Prophet Joseph Smith

That moment when our neighbor rushed into our house yelling, "Call 911!" I had the sense that the day I had been waiting for all these years had come.