Gratitude

As of late my mind has been on gratitude. Gratitude for everything, our country, our religious freedom, windshield wipers, toothbrushes, roommates, and the list goes on. I spoke in church a few weeks ago along with my roommate so we had a lot of discussion on gratitude. Why do we show gratitude? The Lord has given us so much and in the Coctrin and Covenants it teaches us to confess His hand in all things. My talk was focused more on being grateful for the little things that the Lord has blessed our lives with. I truely am grateful for little teaching moments that happen daily in my life where I know that the Lord is with me. It makes me so happy to have windshield wipers! I am so grateful for little things like being able to feel the sunshine. That isn't something that is necessary to help us reach eternal salvation but it is something that the Lord has given us to let us know He loves us.
I went to the Fiesta Days Rodeo on the 24th of July and the feeling of being proud to be an American and having gratitude for those who have a are currently fighting for the freedoms that we have. To know that we could pray before that rodeo and have the freedom to do so really touched me that night. I love rodeos and part of that is because I'm reminded so much of the love that I have for the country that I live in. Too often I forget about the outside world and really how blessed I am to be here. I love July for this reason and am sad to see it go, fortunately just because July is gone doesn't mean rodeos aren't and our freedom is here with us everyday!
I am grateful for my roommates and the people around me that help shape me into the person I am becoming. The gospel is so important in my life and I have been blessed with roommates that have the same goals as I do. We want to live in a place where the Spirit can reside. I love living with people where I learn and grow in the gospel as well. I'm grateful for their example and love that is in our apartment.
In my talk I challenged everyone that each night as they are brushing their teeth to think about the things that happened that day that they were grateful for. If it was something as simple as being grateful to be going to bed. Recognize the Lord's hand in our daily lives because he is there! He never leaves us and has promised that as long and we keep our promises to Him that He will be there to guide and protect us and for that and all these things, I am eternally grateful!