Two Years of Heaven on Earth

A letter that my mom wrote to Jack on his first birthday about the day he was born:

To Jack, My First Grandchild, On Your First Birthday,

    I believe it was very significant and nothing short of a miracle that our whole family was gathered in Utah anticipating your birth last November. I would like to hope that it could happen that way for the arrival of each of my grandchildren, but I am quite certain that all of us being together was a special gift from a loving Heavenly Father that may never be duplicated. It was the beginning of a new era in our lives and He wanted the joy of the commencement of a new generation to be stamped in all of our hearts for eternity.

    The day before your birth was a frantic one. We all gathered in The Sheets home in Holladay two days following Thanksgiving.  Their home became command central for writing applications for your dad’s graduate school, shopping for missionary supplies for your Uncle James, and rambunctious activities for Elizabeth and Isaac with long-missed cousins and adoring great-grandparents. You patiently waited for a more peaceful day to make your debut.

    Later that night, when it became inevitable that you would soon be here, your parents rushed back to Logan to be near your doctor and the hospital where you were to be born. In Holladay, we lay awake wondering if we should drive in the night to be in Logan if needed, or to rest so we could be more helpful in the morning. Then, the five a.m. phone call from your parents with the update. You were on your way! I flew into the shower then out to the car where Grandpa sent me away with a promise to bring the rest of the family as soon as he could.

    In the stillness of the car, I observed the first trace of morning light highlighting the silhouette of Mt. Olympus.  The I-15 was like an old friend pointing me north towards Logan, and I thought of all of your loved ones, past and present, who had a great interest in this, your special day. Many of them too had begun their mortal journey in the shadows of the Utah mountains or had a special connection to this place.

    The veil seamed thin that Sabbath morning, and although I was racing the clock, time did not exist. I was already in Brigham in time to observe a beam of early morning light pushing through the clouds and spilling onto the spires of the brand new temple, as if heaven were so full of joy in anticipation of your birth that the light could not be contained. As I traveled the final stretch, the skies brightened with a new day and a new era and I soon descended into Cache Valley with the Logan temple in the distance. I arrived at the nearly empty hospital and that bright, peaceful, sacred hospital room just in time to see you, my beautiful, glorious, grandson make your quiet entrance into this world…significant, and nothing short of a miracle. It has been a year of heaven on earth.

Happy birthday with all my love,

Grandma Wirthlin

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Happy second birthday to my sweet baby Jack! It truly has been two years of heaven on earth.