I chose my visiting teaching message this month on gratitude because THanksgiving is right around the corner. Lately, I've been trying to focus more on what I have, rather than what I don't and it makes me a happier person. Then I was reminded while studying for this message that gratitude is a commandment. Reminds me of an example I gave when I did a lesson on service and good works. A few days before, I had been at a friends watching her kids and I did a little bit of cleaning. As I was doing it, I wondered why it seemes such a chore to do the same for my own family and not for others. It's because I knew she would be grateful. So often, in our own families we get used to the things they do to make the household run and don't show our thanks. I know for me, I get upset when my family expects me to take care of it all. Housework and cooking mainly falls on my shoulders, but when they just drop stuff or sit around waiting for me to do it, I get upset and feel like I'm taken for granted.
This Thanksgiving, as I think about what I'm thankful for, the thing that sticks out is that we have a 2nd vehicle. It's not so much about the possesion as it represents how far we've come in these last 12 years of marriage. As I walked home this morning from visiting, I was very grateful for this world we have been given and the beauty around us. It's a beautiful time of year, and the fact that it's stayed rather warm for this late in the season gives it an added beauty. The grass is still a vibrant green and there were red and yellow leaves on it and it's just such a simple thing to bring joy, but joy doesn't have to be complicated.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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2 comments:
You are amazing!!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I too have been trying to focus on what I have instead of what I don't have. It is amazing how much more happy you can feel when you have gratitude in your heart. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy having your parents up. I am sad we won't be there.
**Hey as a side note Blaine and I were watching the news last night and they were doing a story on people receiving cancer treatment over the border in Mexico and there was a doctor they were interviewing named Salvador Vargas...Did Sal know he had a twin? (J/K)
We were watching that on the news too. Sal was especially interested because of his sister (who is dying of cancer), so he made it a point to watch. The irony was amusing.
Every now and then when I think about we don't have, I think of ziplock bags. Those are a staple here now, but there was a time they were a luxury item. How things have changed.
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