Recently I have been thinking about how phantom limb syndrome, or phantom limb pain relates to losing a loved one. According to The Cleveland Clinic, “After an amputation, some people experience pain in the part of the limb that’s no longer there. This sensation is phantom limb pain. The pain is real. The phantom part refers to the location of the pain: the missing limb or part of the limb (such as fingers or toes)… An estimated 8 out of 10 people who lose a limb experience some degree of phantom pain…Phantom pain typically occurs soon after limb loss. It can take three to six months for a wound to heal after amputation. Rarely, the pain comes on months or years later (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12092-phantom-limb-pain).”
I feel like we have phantom pain, part of us is gone, our Archie. This phantom pain is when you have moments you want to call your loved one, but can’t. You have a desire to read to them, sing to them or hold them and you ache for that experience. You miss them so much it physically hurts. This doesn’t take long to experience with someone you are close to. Your phantom limb aches, but is absent.
It feels like the pain is cyclic. We both felt close to him on the ride, Peter even closer than I did. I have felt him close at other times. These events make the longing even greater and renew the phantomness of his presence. I wouldn’t give up these moments though, they are a testament that life is eternal, and our loved ones are close by.
I have decided to look at this ache and desire as a driving force to be with Archer in the eternities, knowing that Christ will restore those severed limbs, He will also restore our family. In Alma 40:23 it states, “The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.” The resurrection of our bodies will mirror the reuniting of our families, linked together through the Atonement of Christ. It will be a great chain of love with the emptiness and pain wiped away.
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