Gratitude

I've been wanting to record a couple things that I am grateful for as kind of a journal entry so you'll have to bear with me:

1. I am very grateful for my health. I frequently take my health for granted and I'm trying to be better at recognizing what a great blessing it is to have a body that can do so many things and that isn't in pain. There is a woman who goes to my church here who had a lot of serious complications during the birth of her last baby and has still not recovered even 6 months later. She needs women to help her during the day because she isn't supposed to even lift her baby. Despite all of this, she is a very inspiring woman and has such a positive and selfless attitude. Now that I've had two kids, it's very easy to feel unsatisfied with how my body looks (I know you moms will understand) and I need to remember what a blessing it is that my body works! I'm so thankful to be healthy.

2. I'm thankful for how easy I have it. I realize that this is kind of a mixed blessing since I know that this is our greatest challenge today as a people. We have it too easy and that makes it easy to be materialistic and prideful. Still, the current books that I am reading are the Children of the Promise series that take place during World War II and they have made me so thankful that I haven't had to live through a war like that. It has made me grateful for my grandparents and those who lived during that time as I realize all that they had to sacrifice. Even today, there are so many conflicts in the world and so many people who are struggling just to survive. I know that I don't even fully understand how blessed I am to just have a comfortable place to live and plenty of food and clothes since I've never been without those things. I hope that I can always remember my brothers and sisters around the world who are struggling and do anything in my power to help out.

3. I'm so thankful that I know the truth. I came across this scripture the other day:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." (Amos 8:11-12)

I think that this scripture not only applies to the Apostasy, but also to our time today. So many people are seeking fulfillment and happiness through things that don't matter and that only bring emptiness. Many people think that God does not communicate with us today and I'm so thankful that I have the words of the Lord. I'm thankful to have the counsel of a modern prophet and to have all of the scriptures, including especially the Book of Mormon. I'm thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost that teaches me personally what I need to do to find pure joy.