Grateful in any Circumstance--Pg 70 of the last April General Conference..Amazing talk. Carol made the comment that it was a life changing experience preparing this for us. Anyone who reads it can have the same opportunity to have it affect their lives also.
President Uchtdorf starts out the talk by discussing not gratitude but grief. We all experience it in our lives. He makes the statement:
"Sooner or later, I believe that all of us experience times when the very fabric of our world tears at the seams, leaving us feeling alone, frustrated, and adrift. It can happen to anyone. No one is immune."
So how can we be grateful in times like this?????
Why does God command us to be grateful????
Our Heavenly Father knows that choosing to develop a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness.
One point that I hadn't thought of before is this..."Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful FOR is the wrong approach. Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? I am suggesting that instead of being thankful FOR things, we focus on being thankful IN our circumstances---whatever they may be."
We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do AFTER our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?"
Carol gave a great quote---Think about this---
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace...you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church or synagogue meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
If your parents are still alive and still married...you are very rare, even in the United States.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful...you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.
If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder...you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.
If you can read, you have a double blessing in that, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the wolrd that cannot read at all!!!
Another great point that I felt President Uchtdorf wanted us to know is that being grateful in times of distress does not mean that WE ARE PLEASED WITH OUR CIRCUMSTANCES. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges.
Great lesson...read it--page 70 in the May 2014 Ensign!!!
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