Gratitude

I was looking at my journal from last year at this time. One of the things that pops up regularly is that I love my yard. An entry last fall says "I looked outside in my backyard this morning and marvelled at all the beautiful colors...red, gold, yellow, orange, purple and green all wound around each other like ribbons running through each leaf. I thought of all the time, hard work and money I put into planting flowers last spring, and don't get me wrong because I love the selecting process of which flowers would look good and where to plant them. I even love the planting and watering and then sitting outside and enjoying the beauty in the summer. But I couldn't help but think that now that it is fall, nature takes over and the beauty and color is there in even brighter glory than anything I could produce myself. Of course Heavenly Father know what He is doing as master gardner, He created this world, so everything He does is perfect. He know what looks beautiful." I read or see on the news almost daily all of the horrible things happening somewhere, but even with all the heartache, emotional and physical illness and all kinds of other strange goings on, there is still so much of Heaven everywhere. The contrast for me is so strong, beacause when I get down or falter or go back a step or two, what keeps me going is the army that Heavenly Father chose to bless me with. He didn't just send a few people to help, he called out the troops and those troops include all those that I live near and all my family members. My neighborhood is like a little bit of heaven right in the middle of a world in crisis. Here we have some peace. We all have problems, but we take care of each other. I found a quote in a notebook of mom's that said "The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose." That is just a little of my gratitude journal from last year. Greater things are about to happen. Feeling well, looking forward to Abby and Mike's new little boy, seeing the other little boys during Thanksgiving, watching Whitney and Abby create beautiful handcrafted items. Being able to watch Luke play soccer on the computer, going to a show and dinner with Jim. Hearing stories of Nick's teaching experiences (they are lucky students) Seeing and hearing from James, Becky and Tyler now and then. They are all busy doing great things. Being greatful is good for the soul. You all have been giving me roses for the past few years, so your hands must smell wonderful.