Tales from Tacoma: Week 23: An Attitude of Gratitude

Monday, November 28, 2016

Week 23: An Attitude of Gratitude

Beautiful place to live

Sometimes it is so easy to focus on the negative things, the pain that my bed causes to my back due to an un-supportive mattress, or the fact that I literally had to spend an entire week staring at the walls of my little house. But something that I have realized is that when you focus on the negatives you can only get more negatives. Pessimism is a sad trap.

On the other had you have optimism, the opportunity to recognize the blessings that you do have. In Doctrine and Covenants 78:19 we learn "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more." When you focus on the positive things then you can only gain more positive things. That's a great truth that I learned this past week. If you think about it, missionaries really have a lot to complain about: they are away from home, they don't get to talk to their families, and they have an intense schedule and have more on their plates than they can handle. But we're happy. God blesses us so much that it's just crazy! I love this time of year, Thanksgiving, the opportunity to thank God for all that he has given us, because we are truly so blessed.

So Now I am thankful, my gratitude list is extensive so I will only include a little bit.

I am grateful for:

My wonderful family! They are my rock and my motivation.
The Shelton 1st ward that has literally welcomed me with open arms.
The wonderful people In Lincoln who I miss like crazy.
The incredible opportunity I have to be a missionary, it truly is a blessing.
A fourteen year old boy who had a simple question and was willing to act on whatever the Lord told him.
My little house in the most beautiful place in the world.
My rain boots, raincoat and waterproof everything! Definitely a necessary set of equipment!
The rain because it makes everything so green!
My wonderful Mission president and his wife who are so awesome at helping me out when I need it.
The Gospel, because I would be so very lost without it!
The Book of Mormon, my absolute favorite book in the entire world.
And, most importantly, my Savior, Jesus Christ, who is my best friend and my older Brother, the one who would do anything for me and who already has.

I Love the opportunity to get on my knees and thank my Heavenly Father for all the many blessings that He has given me, this truly is a wonderful life!