I think this way.

I have sometimes in quiet, fearful, moments prayed that I be the first in my marriage to die.

Today I met the blog of a woman who knows she will be.

Please pray for us, and for my family especially. My part in all of this is rather easy. I get to die and be with my Savior in glory. I get to miss out on all the suffering this world holds. It is my family who bear the grief and the pain day in and day out. It is for them that my heart breaks.

Hold your loved ones a little closer for me today. Live life a little more — wear your dressy clothes around the house just because life is really short and stains don’t really matter. Don’t get impatient about the little things.

Someday we’ll understand why.

I am lifting her and her family in prayer today. Facing one’s own mortality takes one type of bravery. Knowing what you are leaving your family to experience without you and your strength demands additional courage.