This week I am working on Gratitude. I have always taken this virtue for granted. We're taught from a very young age that it is polite to say, "Thank you," in response to kindness. When we are taught to pray, we learn that we must always start by thanking Heavenly Father for those blessings for which we are grateful.
I had always assumed that gratitude for any particular thing was just something you had or something you didn't. I don't have a particular grateful feeling for rain. It tends to make me feel lousy. I feel lethargic and just want to curl up and take a nap until the clouds clear and the sun comes out again. But I know people who consistently thank Heavenly Father for the moisture. I used to believe that either they actually liked the rain--for some twisted reason :) --or that they were just trying to seem spiritual by thanking Him for something unusual. I thought gratitude was just the expression of the feelings that came naturally to you.
I was wrong.
Gratitude is something you work on and develop. It is a feeling that you choose to have, and the more you choose it, the more you have it. So, although I might not be a fan of the rain, I can be grateful that there is variety in the weather. I can be grateful for water to drink and for a break from the heat. I can be grateful for rainbows and thunderstorms. As I ponder those things that I am grateful for, I come to have a stronger feeling of gratitude for the rain in general.
Isn't that beautiful! Because of my effort to feel gratitude for rain, Heavenly Father blesses me with it. This applies to trials too.
My sweet baby girl became sick yesterday. Her body began rejecting everything she ate. She was pale and lethargic, and cried and cried. She couldn't understand what was happening. I sat up with her for most of the night. I cried and prayed and rocked her back to sleep each time she woke up. I felt awful that I couldn't explain to her why she was hurting and why I couldn't just make it go away. I also began feeling nauseous and worried about what I would do, how I would care for her if I became sick too. I prayed that we could be well. I prayed that she would have peace. I prayed that He would help her relax and fall asleep. It felt like the night would never end.
I'm grateful for that trial though. I choose to be grateful for it. I'm grateful that it gave me an opportunity to pray to my Heavenly Father, pleading with Him to heal His daughter. I'm grateful that I had the chance to exercise my faith and prove my reliance on Him when things get hard. I'm grateful I was able to say "Thy will be done," and mean it.
Amazingly, at about four thirty this morning, she woke up and was visibly feeling better. She wanted to eat and play. The color was back in her cheeks and she was smiling and jabbering. Although I still felt like I might be sick, and all I wanted to do was go back to bed, I was overjoyed that she was healed. I know that Heavenly Father blessed her, because I was sure that she would be sick for at least a full twenty-four hours. Instead, it was barely twelve. Even more wonderful is that I began to feel better. I never actually became sick, although I was exposed in every way to her during her illness. Heavenly Father loves us, and He blesses us for our faith in Him. I'm so grateful for the things I learned through this trial.
Lastly, I just want to point out how wonderful it is that such a simple thing, being grateful, can lead to all the other important virtues, such as faith, humility, and love. Heavenly Father provides ways for us to become all that He would have us be. I'm grateful for this one simple virtue that will help me fulfill my potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment