Gratitude Evolved

I needed to write my gratitude today.

Saturday we were able to have a slip n slide in our own yard.  Blessing!

We also had a bunch of neighborhood girls want to come join.  Blessing!

Our girls have tons of other girls around to play with.  Blessing!

We will have a completed garden soon.  Blessing!

We have a Bishopric, ward and community that cares.  Blessing!

We have a beautiful home to live in.  Blessing!

Our children can walk to school.  BLESSING!

After school is over, the girls can come home, get homework done, do chores and then they have a gaggle of girls waiting to play with them.  Blessing!


A couple nights ago, Ben and I went outside to lay on the grass (Blessing!!).  We snuggled and watched the stars in the sky.  I sat there thinking of all our blessings we currently are enjoying (and some days taking for granted).  So many dreams, so many tears shed, so many trials fought to bring us to this point.  I see and feel huge blessings each day.  I need to be better about looking at my blessings, pointing them out and being grateful for them.

I have thought a lot about our Savior and his atonement lately.  I have thought about he suffered all so that when we are struggling, he could understand.  He suffered for our sins and our sorrow.  I truly know this.  I remember many times over the last few years KNOWING my prayers were answered but many times feeling that no one understood really.

 The time I felt this the most was the time we went to Washington DC in Jan of 2010.  As we were led and guided I knew our Father in Heaven was leading us and guiding us to where we needed to be.  We met some people there.  I KNOW we were meant to meet them.  Ben and I both had VERY distinct feelings to go to church at this set time and place.  We arrived and I thought maybe it was for the speakers but it wasn't.  We met some people there that Ben had grown up with.  This and that happened and they offered to help but in the end backed out.  The other day Ben and I were talking about that time in our lives.  Ben said to me, "I think we were meant to go and meet them.  They felt inspired too and then backed out.  I think they were the means to the way for us to get what we were supposed to at that time but because they didn't help Heavenly Father had to take us to a different path."

That struck to my soul.  Even though I learned soooo much from our experience, I had always wondered why he sent us to Washington DC.  We learned but I had felt like there was something more, we had missed out on something.  I felt that way strongly for a while but could never pin point it.  Ben saying that answered my final questions.  Our Father in Heaven can't do it alone!  He needs US to help answer OTHERS prayers.  We can be his helping hands to those around us.  He is going to find a way to help those that he needs to and wants to help and if we choose not to help, we are the ones that miss out.  We can be a huge blessing in someone else's life if we choose to listen and serve.

Our current ward it seems is ALWAYS talking about how to serve those around you.  Each week I hear over and over again how the Lord hears our prayers and many times he answers it through actions of those around us.

How many times have I been the one to answer prayers?  The more important question is, "How many times have I been the one to fore-go the blessings of answering prayers".  How many times have I been "just to busy" or "I will get around to it"?  How many times has the Lord asked me to be his helping hands, to be the blessing in someone else's life, only for me to fail in doing so?

I need to be better and listening and following because what may seem to me like something small and simple may be a fervent prayer and life changing event to someone else.

I know this is strange to put this here but I wanted to have it written down.  I started writing about our blessings and all this over took me and I realized I needed to write about this.  I have a saying on my fridge by President George Albert Smith and it says, "Our eternal happiness will be in proportion to the way that we devote ourselves to helping others."

This saying has been going around on pinterest and I have to say, I love the Hinckleys!

I am only given 1 life.  I need to make this life more about service and living the way the Savior has asked and even begged and pleaded at times...in the service of my fellow beings.  I find it easy to serve my family (hubby, children, sisters, brothers and parents).  I need to reach out and start serving my neighbors too!