An Attitude of Gratitude

I have been working on a 40 day conference challenge where I read a conference talk each day. I have loved doing this because I have enjoyed being reminded of the words of our church leaders.

Yesterday I read a the talk "Grateful in Any Circumstance" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He is one of my very favorite speakers and every time I read one of his talks, I can hear him speaking in his German accent in my head. I love it!!

As I reading this talk during the sacrament yesterday, tears came to my eyes. He talks about how we can be grateful no matter what our lives are like at any particular moment. Some might say, "when I overcome this trial, I will be grateful". President Uchtdorf teaches us that this is not the case. Yes, we will be grateful when our trials are over, however, we can still find reasons to be grateful through the trial.

Life is hard for everyone. We all have our struggles. Some of our own doing and some because of the agency of others. Some small and some great. Some that we feel are everlasting and some that are but a small moment. No matter what the struggle is, it is uniquely ours and we must find our own way to overcome.

When we went through 3 rounds of IVF and each one failed, I was devastated. I thought my world was over. I thought there was no use of any more hope. But I eventually found reasons to hope and to have faith. I learned to be grateful for whatever was in my life at that time. One of those things was that I was able to overcome my fear of having my blood drawn. I became such a pro at it that it hardly bothers me.

Our struggle now is the pending layoff of Jon's job and trying to find him a new one. I have always had the feeling that things will work out, but there have been times that have been hard and emotionally draining. But I still know that Heavenly Father is mindful of me and will take care of us. 

I believe these are some of the many reasons why this talk speaks so much to me. It reminds me that regardless of my trials, there is always something to be grateful for and that I have been truly blessed more than words can express.

Here are just a few of the things I am grateful for:

- a loving and devoted husband

- the Gospel

- my Savior

- my family

- my friends

- my little dog

- my calling and the opportunity that I have to work with children in my ward

- employment

- a home

- my talents

- my health

And there are so many more.

Because of the Memorial Day holiday, we have a tradition to visit graves of loved ones who have gone before us.

 My Grandpa and Grandma Fenstermaker

 Our nephew Anthony

And my sister Allison

This is something that I am extremely grateful for and reminds me that no matter my circumstances, my family is eternal. What greater blessing is there to have than that?

"How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?" 

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf