I somehow stumbled upon this article Gratitude as a Saving Principle
One
of the advantages of having lived a long time is that you can often
remember when you had it worse. I am grateful to have lived long enough
to have known some of the blessings of adversity. My memory goes back to
the Great Depression, when we had certain values burned into our souls.
One of these values was gratitude for what we had because we had so
little. We had to learn provident living in order to survive. Rather
than create in us a spirit of envy or anger for what we did not have, it
developed in many a spirit of gratitude for the meager, simple things
with which we were blessed, like hot homemade bread and oatmeal cereal
and many other things.
As
another example, I remember my beloved grandmother, Mary Caroline Roper
Finlinson, making homemade soap on the farm. Her recipe for homemade
soap included rendered animal fat and wood ashes. The soap had a very
pungent aroma and was almost as hard as a brick. There was no money to
buy soft, sweet-smelling soap. On the farm there were many dusty,
sweat-laden clothes to be washed and many bodies that desperately needed
a Saturday night bath. If you had to bathe with that homemade soap, you
could become wonderfully clean, but you smelled worse after bathing
than before. Since I use soap more now than I did as a child, I have
developed a daily appreciation for mild, sweet-scented soap.
One
of the evils of our time is taking for granted so many of the things we
enjoy. This was spoken of by the Lord: “For what doth it profit a man
if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift?” (D&C 88:33).
The Apostle Paul described our day to Timothy when he wrote that in the
last days “men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy” (2 Tim. 3:2). These sins are fellow travelers, and ingratitude makes one susceptible to all of them.
I love that we have prophets to guide us and quiet our souls. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I love teachimg my children, as it is in those moments that the gospel becomes crystal clear to me. I love that we have been warned and prepared for such a day as this. While I am worried and I too wonder if I am ready enough I know that we will be blessed if we keep the commandments and fear not.
I acknowledge with great gratitude the peace and contentment we can find
for ourselves in the spiritual cocoons of our homes, our sacrament meetings, and our holy temples. In these peaceful environments, our souls are rested. We have the feeling of having come home.
As a mom it is a challenge to make our homes a peaceful environment where we can be cocooned from the cares of the day. However as I pick up yet another dirty sock stuffed partly in the couch, and wash the dishes for the billionth time and try to be an interesting and tasty cook... I realize that is my privledge to be that mother warrior protecting, providing, and preaching to my family. I am thankful for the blessing of enough. For this time of goodness in my life. I love this time in our family! It is so enjoyable when we are all together. The hands multiply from just my two to those of my older kids who are diverse, entertaining, creative, kind, boistrous, and good.
President J. Reuben Clark, formerly a First Counselor in the First
Presidency, said: “Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for
you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the
part of cherishing them"
So as the holidays begin and with the worries of the world casting fear and doubt I am choosing to hold onto the blessings I have. With just what I already have I am blessed.
Another great article and a good one for an FHE is Run and BE Not Weary
with this audio retelling by Creed Haymond in his own words audio
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