When things that are dear to you are withdrawn

Things have been a whirlwind for the last few days but we accomplished getting Dylan out the door and ON HIS MISSION! I still cannot believe that I have a son on a mission. It is a very wonderful feeling and I feel such gratitude to my Heavenly Father for giving me this righteous son. I am so very proud of him.
His farewell was this past Sunday, July 31st. I knew he had been working on and struggling with his talk for weeks. To be completely honest I had no idea what to expect. Sometimes the inexperience really shows through with farewell talks, not that there's anything wrong with that, I just didn't know what to expect. My son blew me away. His preparation, physical and spiritual was evident. His growth was evident. I didn't try to take notes as I usually do because I knew I could get a copy later, all I did was sit there and soak it all up. I had the feeling that my son was ready! Not perfect of course, but ready to go now and be stretched to the next level.
It was such a wonderful day. There were so many people there and I was disappointed that I didn't get any pictures. I was flipping pancakes as fast as I could, then as soon as it slowed down people were already leaving and I realized that I forgot to get the camera out! Dang! It's ok though, I've tried to make a list to remember everyone that came. Many did not come over for food but were there for his talk and it was so great to see such love and support. He had one of his elementary school teachers come, his golf coach, his good baseball coach, his co-workers... so many dear friends and family. I had such feelings of joy and happiness that I really can't describe it. This is really what it's all about!
I will share the part of his talk that affected me the most. As he concluded he read a passage from a talk given by Elder F. Enzio Busche. He said that this was his favorite talk and that he reads it every morning as he has been preparing for his mission. I had no idea he did this! (It was actually a video that he watched.) He shared it with Glenn and I later in the day which was another special moment.
Here is the video. It is from a BYU Devotional on May 14 1986.

Watching this beautiful video has become my new daily routine. One particular passage has become very personal to me now that Dylan is gone. He says "When things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you know that this is your lesson to be learned right now but know also that as you are learning this lesson God wants to give you something better." Dylan may be withdrawn from us at this time but I know he will return as something better. I love my Heavenly Father for giving us all this marvelous experience.