Gratitude

This weekend we have been listening to conference. I love conference weekends and I really LOVE getting my Ensign in the mail the next month so I can read and study the talks. Today President Monson spoke to us on gratitude. I particularly appreciated the story he told about the family when lived on a farm and had recently acquired electricity. After their home was well lit, their crops were destroyed by rain. It was a difficult year for them. When Thanksgiving came around, all they had for their dinner was some salvaged turnips and a jackrabbit. At meal time all of the children refused to eat. Their father got up, pulled out the old kerosene lamp, lit it and put it on the table. He then turned out all of their new electric lights. They were shocked at how dark it was and even more surprised that they had lived in such darkness for so long. They began to feel gratitude for what they had and ate their simple meal. The point of the story was that when it was light, all they could see was what they didn't have, but once their space was lit only by a small lamp they were able to see all they had. We are all sometimes like this family. We see what we don't have and fail to feel gratitude for all we have been given. I have been blessed abundantly by the Lord and I am grateful. It is so easy to see what I don't have and I need to remember to close my eyes, think and see all that I have!


I am grateful for my husband and children