Grateful...

A poignant sense of how fortunate and blessed I am has been on my mind and in my heart for some time. A good friend gave a talk in church today and stressed how important it is to express gratitude for all that we receive and enjoy. Below is by no means a comprehensive list, but a few especially precious gifts for which I feel enormously grateful.

My Wife Companion

The moments of my life where I have felt the most overwhelming, consuming love have come because of and are connected to my sweetheart. In ways obvious and subtle, the love I feel for her grows daily and I learn to a greater degree what the Prophet Joseph taught: love begets love. My Jilly is selfless, virtuous, resourceful, modest, faithful, steady, creative, wholly committed to her covenants and the Gospel, a wonderful mother, a great beauty inside and out, intelligent, funny, compassionate, genuine, lovely, and my very best friend in the wide world. I depend on her so much, draw so much strength from her faith and optimism, learn from her everyday, and feel inspired by her belief in my ability to do good. I've heard it said that standing beside every good man is a better woman. This is certainly true in my case.

My Son

Ryan is such a delight in my life. I'm just all kinds of crazy about him. I love to hold him close. I love to watch him learn and discover. I love to watch him play with Jilly and my parents and our friends. I love to see him light up when I come home from work. I love to read books with him at bedtime. I love to hear him speak and laugh. I love to watch him sleep. I love to wrestle and tickle him. I love to watch him make people smile. He is a special spirit and I am grateful to be his Daddy.

My Daughter

I realize that several months remain before she will be born, but I have seen and felt our little girl and I look forward to her arrival in the spring. There is a lot unknown for me in raising a daughter, but I feel a great love for her already and am grateful for another addition to our family.

Parents

I really have been born of goodly parents. They were recently here and it struck me how intimately and in great detail they know what my little family is about and the things that matter to us. This underscores to me the love they have for my wife whom they have always treated as their daughter, their grandson, and me. They have gone to great lengths to make sure they bond with Ryan as he grows and develops, and their devotion and care mean the world to me. They continue to teach me, and their counsel for me and my family makes all the difference. I see in my own relationship with Ryan and their relationship with Jill and I a type and pattern of Heavenly Father's relationship to His children, and how these relationships help man become like God.

Friends

When you are far from family, a strong network of friends is worth its weight in gold. More than at any other time in my life, I am deeply grateful for loving and devoted friends who have become family to Jilly, Ryan and I. Their joys are my joys, their successes my successes, their sorrow my sorrows. Relationships with our friends are deeply meaningful and are a great blessing to me. They add a dimension to my life that is sweet and fulfilling and a great manifestation of how prayers are answered.


Truly, when I count my blessings one by one it not only surprises but reaffirms the perfect love Heavenly Father has for me and for all His children and the countless ways that love is shown. I sincerely feel confused at the grace by which He so fully profers me. When I think about how I might express gratitude for all these blessings, I determine that the only possible way is to do unto others as has been done unto me, to carry on the legacy of love of which I am a part.