Grateful...

I am grateful for my life. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for a roof over my head, money in the bank, food in our pantry. Since returning home from Peru, I have learned to be grateful for carpeted floors, running water, hot water, toothbrushes, air conditioning, a solid roof over my head and easy to prepare meals ( I have never had to kill my own chicken.) I am grateful for opportunities to serve and love people all around me. I am grateful that my husband can continue his education so easily, and by his own freedom and choice. My gratitude list could go on for years.
    I am grateful that things take time, God's timing. His timing has always ended up being a lot better than my own timing, albeit I rarely thought that at the time.
      I am grateful for the challenges and trials, because I know that they could always be worse and a lot harder. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father is always there for me. If I could tell my 19 year old self what I know now, ten years later, I would tell her to be grateful for everything, no matter what. Sometimes I have caused myself my own trials in the past, thinking I was worse off, or that life was harder than ( now looking back) it really was.
  Gratitude can change how you see your day and week ( and year), even if the tasks seem mundane at times. Gratitude can make a "bad" day, be a good day with quite a few frustrating moments. I am grateful that Heavenly Father has given me trials to teach me to be grateful and to realize that they are really manifestations of how much He loves me and desires for me to be better.
     I truly love finding the blessings in the midst of a trial, albeit not always easy, it is always humbling and I always feel blessed and watched over.
I am grateful. And I am grateful for that feeling.