Gratitude

I must be sympathizing across the miles with Ginnie's up-and-down emotions, because last weekend I was in a wicked bad mood, and today I'm all smiles. I have been thinking about pride a lot lately and how no matter how much I serve and try to be obedient and all that jazz, I still have an immense amount of pride to let go of. I feel like my life lately is one big lesson in humility, as much as that can frustrate me. I'm obviously not getting it - letting go of the pride issue is so hard for me sometimes! But I have good examples everywhere. I was thinking about Sarah, and how she genuinely loves everyone; about Jared, and how he is so kind to everyone; about my coworkers like Amanda and Meredith who just smile and work hard, even when people aren't grateful and are sometimes downright rude; about my parents, who love the members of the branch, no matter what their situation in life is; and so on. I realized that I have been far too judgmental in my life, and Heavenly Father is providing all of these incredible people as examples of love and kindness for me. I want to emulate myself after them. I was even amazed at my boss, who's been put through incredible trials the past couple of weeks, and while I would forgive her for getting angry and wanting to get even with higher-ups, she has been an incredible Christ-like example to me of love and patience and hard work. It's so neat to look around me and see how Heavenly Father is blessing me through others. I am truly blessed.

Today in Sunday school, we talked about the prodigal son and also about the ten lepers Christ healed, only to have one come back and thank Him for the healing. I realized that I take a lot for granted, and having a more grateful attitude should help me to recognize the blessings I do have and how loved and fortunate I am, despite the righteous desires I have that seem to pass me by. I am realizing that maybe Heavenly Father has a different plan for me, and that's okay. It was interesting to watch the mother's day program today and think about how no matter our marriage or parental status, the women of the church truly all are mothers. We're already there. We take care of each other and the youth in a way that makes us mothers. And it's funny to me how we often forget that.

I am so grateful to have the knowledge I have about Christ, about the plan of salvation, and about my relationship to God. I know that no matter how many times I turn away from Him, He will always love me and be waiting for me to turn back to Him. That's such a comforting thought - that, like the prodigal son, I have a father who is waiting to welcome me home. It makes living and working through the hard times a little bit easier, knowing that I've got Heavenly Father on my side. I am so blessed, & I just wanted to express that today. :)