A tribute to Meghan

One of Meghan's best friends and former room mate is sending this article that she wrote in to the Ensign ( a magazine published by our Church). I wanted to post it on my blog too just in case it doesn't get published so you could all read it. It's beautifully done. thanks again Tiff!

“We Talk of Christ”
“The Comforting Power of the Atonement”
By Tiffany Jones
In college, I chose to study abroad in Chile during the summer. I had been there two days when I learned my roommate Meghan had passed away from complications in a car accident. I was devastated. I had never known a more valiant, upbeat, thoughtful person. She was enthusiastic about the gospel, eagerly attending church meetings, faithfully praying and reading scriptures daily. When it snowed, instead of grumbling about the cold and wet, she was delighted for beautiful weather. With her contagious energy and vitality, she was rarely without a date. She was cheerful, helpful, and selfless, even staying with another roommate an entire night when the roommate was ill.
Sharing a room together, we became like sisters. “Joined at the hip,” or “two peas in a pod,” people would say. We were so close that often we knew each other’s thoughts. When Meghan turned to me after a church meeting and said, “I just received an answer to prayer,” I immediately knew: “You’re going on a mission!” We planned to live life’s adventures together, teaching at the same school, raising our children side by side.
Hearing of Meghan’s death was the most heart-wrenching news I had ever heard. In my broken Spanish, I mumbled to my host family, “Mi amiga…Ella esta muerta,” and I stumbled into my room, sobbing. My heart hurt. I was in agony. I felt such deep sorrow and loss and pain. Not knowing where else to turn in an unfamiliar country, I knelt and opened my scriptures, soon finding myself reading in Alma: “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; …and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:11-12). Until that moment, I had never understood the depth of the Atonement’s power. The Atonement is not only to heal us from sin but also to relieve us of sorrow. Immediately, the Savior’s peace filled me, and I felt as Lehi, “encircled about eternally in the arms of his love” (2 Nephi 1:15). My pain was eased and my heartache soothed. I was given the peace that only our Savior could give. He knew exactly how to comfort me because “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53: 4).
I still missed my friend, and the sadness still remained, but suddenly, somehow, it was bearable. I was given the strength to endure with hope and peace. I knew Meghan was now serving her life’s mission with God. I am so grateful that during that difficult time I learned of the comforting, fortifying power of the Atonement. When life seems more than I can bear, I don’t have to rely on my own strength to overcome. The Savior is ready to run to my aide and give me of his love, strength, and peace.