If there is an overlying theme of my mission, it is that I have choice. I can choose to be bitter about my circumstances or I can choose to be happy. I can choose to be miserable or I can choose faith. I can choose to be ungrateful, or I can choose to see all that the Lord has given me.
Today I choose gratitude. I'm grateful for the the Lord and the loving sacrifice He made for me as my Savior. I recognize that He runs to me in my hour of need and with pure love makes me whole. I can choose to see Heavenly Father's hand in my life and the personal direction He gives me and the reality of His deep love for me individually.
As Sister Carron and I were pondering this morning and analyzing the tasks ahead of us in an area that is relatively new to both of us, the thought came to my mind to turn to the new issue of the Ensign from General Conference and the page opened to a talk by Elder Carl B. Cook. It's called, "It Is Better to Look Up."
He shares this story, "At the end of a particularly tiring day toward the end of my first week as a General Authority, my briefcase was overloaded and my mind was preoccupied with the question “How can I possibly do this?” I left the office of the Seventy and entered the elevator of the Church Administration Building. As the elevator descended, my head was down and I stared blankly at the floor.
The door opened and someone entered, but I didn’t look up. As the door closed, I heard someone ask, “What are you looking at down there?” I recognized that voice—it was President Thomas S. Monson.
I quickly looked up and responded, “Oh, nothing.” (I’m sure that clever response inspired confidence in my abilities!)
But he had seen my subdued countenance and my heavy briefcase. He smiled and lovingly suggested, while pointing heavenward, “It is better to look up!” As we traveled down one more level, he cheerfully explained that he was on his way to the temple. When he bid me farewell, his parting glance spoke again to my heart, “Now, remember, it is better to look up.”
I remember my mom had heard that story a few months ago and when I heard it for the first time it impressed me. It is better to look up. We can choose to focus on all that havoc and chaos in the world. It can seem overwhelming and all encompassing with all of the negativity we face. But it reminds me of this one last quote before this gets too lengthy, "While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.
We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude ofgratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
President Monson, the Prophet and mouthpiece of our Heavenly Father said that, and it has stuck with me!
I am still learning, and there is so much more that I don't know or understand, but I do know with a complete surety that with a heartfelt prayer and the power of Jesus Christ, my Savior, my day can turn from dark clouds to rays of light within my heart. That is something to be grateful for.
Happy Thanksgiving! There is truly so much that is good!
