I am thankful for....

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I wasn't one of the wonderful people who posted a 'gratitude' each day during the moth of November.  It wasn't because I wasn't grateful for the incredible amount of blessings bestowed upone me, it was due to emotional reasons.  In July my world turned upside down.  Mother's illness and the possiblity of losing her destroyed me to my very core.  Since the miracle of her recovery, my heart has been filled with emotions impossible to describe.  I can barely speak of my thanks without tearing up and crying a good portion.  Life has changed for me in a very tangible way.  The colors of the world are more vibrant, the air is different, my love and compassion for people have increased a thousand fold.  My view of worldly objects and my desire to have them have changed.  I am not interested in things that can become outdated or worn out or discolored.  I am only interested in the really essential things like the gospel and my love for my family.  Those are two things that I can not live without.  As much as my spirit needs the 'bread of life' and other important elements that will help me to maintain the 'straight and narrow way'...I  also need my family and the unconditional love and support that they give to me.  We were part of a family before we came to this earth.  Our Father in Heaven gave us a tremendous gift in providing a family here on earth for everyone.  I realize that not everyone born was given as wonderful a family as mine and that makes me appreciate them all the more.  My sisters are my best friends.  I love them with all of my heart.  They are a constant joy to me and provide me the strength and encouragment that I so desperately need. I love my brother and the sweet and sincere heart that he has.   I have been blessed with 'goodly parents' who love the Lord.  While my father may not be perfect or the way that I would like him to be, he has always loved the Lord and suported the church and all things pertaining to the gospel.  How easy it would have been for mom and dad to fall away from the church after their conversion.  They didn't have much knowledge, the church was not predominant in Louisiana and provided little friends and encouragement.  They did not have their families support in their quest for truth and knowledge.   They simply had each other and the testimonies born in their hearts.  They took their testimonies and grew in the gospel and their love of the Lord.  They raised their children to be strong and to gain their own personal testimonies.  Now their grandchildren are being raised in the church and are discovering their own personal relationships with the Lord.  My parents legacy is in their faithfulness to the gospel and to the Lord.  My life has been blessed by the decisions they have made.  Their courage to accept the gospel and bravery to never go down an easier path.  My child and future grandchildren will benefit from their single choice to not only be baptized but their singlemindedness to obey the commandments.  This Thanksgiving gives my heart great pause.  I realize and feel things in a whole new way.  My mind has been opened to a different perspective on the really important things in this life.  I am aware that we are on this earth for only a short amount of time.  As I get older and see people I love go on to the other side of the veil, I appreciate those around me whom I love.  I am most grateful to have my mother with me for a while longer.  The possiblity of the future without her in it fills me with dread. Her whole family loves and adores her.  She has touched so many lives.  She has lived a selfless life.  Our Father in Heaven has seen fit to give her the miracle of life.  I know that He gave that miracle to me and my siblings.  We still have so much to learn from her.  This Thanksgiving I am simply and humbly grateful.  I acknowledge my Father in Heaven in all things, but most importantly, in the miracle of life and the blessings of family.

This is what the ordinance is all about....

This picture was given out during a Relief Society talk a few months ago.  It hit me like a rock.  How often do we tend to overlook the young men passing the sacrament, or think of things other than our Savior (like thinking about the lesson you are to give or the person you want to speak with right after Sacrament meeting)
rather than concentrate on the ordinance you are making?  I love how this picture shows the young toddler running to the Savior with outstretched arms. He knows the Savior!  The mother is obviously spiritually prepared to witness him but the husband is oblivious.  How much I want to feel and 'see' the Savior in the small and simple things that we have a tendency to take for granted. 

Today I want to share my testimony of Him.  I know he lives.  I know that he created this world and all those who are a part of it whether it be human or animal or plant.  He knows each of us individually.  Elder Holland stated "He knows your name and knows your circumstance.  He hears your prayers.  He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations.  And He knows what you can become through faith in Him."  I love him with all of my heart and soul.  I can never repay him for the kindness and mercy he has extended to me.  However, I can wake up to the covenants I make each time I partake of the Sacrament.
I can take upon myself the name of Christ and always remember him and keep his commandments. This is something I CAN do everyday.