I am thankful for many things!

At this time of year when we focus on the things we are most thankful for it can be hard when our pain and grief are still so fresh. However, this year I feel that I have more then ever to be thankful for. I am thankful to the doctors, nurses and staff of Primary Children's Hospital who worked so hard not only to extend Holland's life but they got her to actually look forward to Chemo appointments. I am thankful for all the friends and family who reached out to us in so many ways. Not to mention the many people we have never met who were touched by Holland's experience. The prayers, thoughts, cards, donations, flowers and countless e-mails and Facebook posts will be impossible to repay but please know that we are thankful for each moment that other people spent caring about our well being. The Zumbathon and the 5K race were so surreal to see how many people were willing to help and care for our little family. It can be hard to be the recipient of so many charitable donations but we viewed each cent as an answer to a prayer and blessings from a loving Heavenly Father. Those donations helped us not only to buy our house, and care for Holland but to put her to rest without ever worrying how we would do so.

I am thankful for all our family that supported us so wonderfully during this time of tremendous trial. I am grateful for the blessing that is my son Dallin, he has been a consent reminder to me that life keeps going each day and I can't ever just give up. I am so thankful for a beautiful, loving and caring wife who has been riding this roller coaster with me everyday from the beginning. When I'm down she is the one to bring me back up, when she is down I am there to bring her back up. Together we have learned how to find joy in the journey. Without her by my side I would have been lost long ago. I am thankful that life continues to move on, in the life of our little baby boy, who is growing bigger each day. God has already taught us so much about his plan through the life of this unborn child.

I am most of all thankful to my best friend and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have come to know and trust in Jesus in ways I never would have dreamed possible. There are lessons that can only be taught through the loss of a loved one. I have learned to give up my will and trust that the will of my Heavenly Father is what I need more then what I want. Each time I fall Christ has been there to raise me back up. I am thankful for Temples which allow me to feel closer to my savior and better understand his will for me. I am thankful to a Savior who unselfishly took my sins upon him so that I could be made worthy to live to see my daughter again after this life. I am grateful that he died and made it possible for all of us to live beyond death. I know that my daughter is alive and still a very real part of my life and this knowledge and ability is thanks to my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lastly I am thankful for 4 years in which I have been bless to have my dear friend and lovely daughter Holland in my life. There have been many ups and downs in the last year but overall I am thankful for the ride. I am glad that I had the opportunity to know Holland and serve here and teach her while she was here on this earth.  I am thankful for the chance to watch her so valiantly face some of the greatest trials this life has to offer as a 3 and 4 year old girl without shrinking away. I am thankful for the example that she has been to me of what it means to find joy in times of struggle. I am thankful for every memory, photo, video and belonging that she left me with that keep her with me. But more so I am thankful for the ways she has found to show me that she is still a very real and active part of my life even though she is gone. I am thankful that I am still alive and have the opportunity to use her experience to help others in their times of need. She has been a true blessing in every sense of the word. I am thankful for even the hard painful times that I shared with Holland because they have shown me that no matter what happens in our life, what trials befall us, what pain and suffering we experience there is joy to be found. Life is temporary but the lessons we learn are everlasting. I am thankful for each thought that I have, each comment I make, each feeling of my heart that brings me closer to my daughter and in turn my loving God and Heavenly Father. He is real He loves each of us and if we trust in Him and put His will above our own we can be made more like Him. I know these things to be true because I am experiencing them each day.

I am thankful for my daughter, my 2 sons, my wife, my brothers and sisters, my mother and father, aunts and uncles, Aleta's family and each member of my family both in this life and on the other side, each person who has touched my life and taught me anything of humanity and divinity and I am thankful for a God who loves me and has found so many ways to touch my life. Life is hard but I am thankful for each breath.
Bryan Young

Several people have asked for copies of the words that I and Elder Bowen spoke at Hollands Funeral so I have uploaded them here.  If you would like to hear the whole funeral let me know and I can get that to you.

Elder Shayne M. Bowen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SuXDOF9xP4

Bryan Young Eulogy
https://www.youtube.com/audio?v=V0DOE6toHDg