At this time of thanksgiving there have been a lot of people posting something they are grateful for each day as a countdown to thanksgiving. I have not participated in that simply because I don't post on Facebook that often, but I do want to acknowledge publicly my gratitude for some certain things.
First off I want to say that I am grateful that God is in the details. I know that He is aware of everything that happens and that He knows what is in my future. I am especially grateful for that tonight. I received a phone call from home with some bad news about my dear sweet Grandma. She will unfortunately not be with us for more than a few more weeks. This came as a complete surprise to me and Ben because we didn't even know she was in the hospital. We find ourselves suddenly needing to make arrangements to go home this weekend so that we can be with her one last time, which will be difficult because Ben has work, we both have school, and we both volunteer at the Temple on the weekends.
But this was not a surprise to God. As I started making lists of everything I need to prepare or arrange in order to make this trip home, I realized that almost everything had already been taken care of previously. I had traded some work days in the temple with someone else because they needed thanksgiving weekend off, so I had asked them to work for me this weekend as a trade. That was 2 weeks ago, before my Grandma was even in the hospital. Another unexpected blessing came when I called my shift supervisor to tell her that Ben couldn't work either and she told me that Ben didn't need to even bother getting a substitute (which would have been very difficult on such short notice) because they already had too many men coming in to work this weekend. Also, I have several large projects due this week and next week, but for some reason I felt very motivated to get the bulk of the work done yesterday and today. I found that all I really have to do is type up the reports. So now I know why all these things happened. The moment I received that bad news it all came into focus - God was behind all of these details, and now the idea of suddenly taking 4 days off isn't as nearly as stressful as it would have been had I tried to plan this in advance.
I have also had several of my teachers tell me in the last 2 days that while class is being held Monday and Tuesday, that those days aren't going to be critical to our grade, which allows me to feel less anxious about going home for those days to be with my Grandma. The truth is, Heavenly Father knew that I would go through this, and He has done a lot of preparation to help me be able to go home this weekend. I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who takes care of the details.
I also am so grateful for the knowledge that families can be together forever. I am grateful for the wonderful woman my Grandma is and the example she has been for me. She is truly a saint, and a wonderful example of a Christ-like and selfless person. I feel so blessed to have had her in my life. I am grateful that I will have a few more days with her. I am also very happy for her. She hasn't seen my Grandpa in 20 years, but she has lived faithfully this entire time so that she can be with him in heaven. As a widow she served several years as an ordinance worker in the Boise Idaho Temple, she served a full time mission in Leads, England when she was 82 years old, she gave countless hours of service as a volunteer at the Kuna library reading to children because she believed that books were more valuable than watching the TV is. I don't think a single living soul can walk through her door without her insisting that they stay and let her feed them a meal (this includes complete strangers like door to door salesman). I am grateful for her example. I am grateful that she is my Grandma, and that she will always be my Grandma.
I know that if we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we will all be together again. I am so grateful that our family relationships were intended by God to last not just "till death", but for all eternity. I am grateful for the knowledge of God's plan for families, for the knowledge that life does not end with death. I am grateful to know that there is a purpose to life, and I am so glad that I know who I am and why I am here and where I am going.
I testify that Christ is real. He came to this earth and He suffered for our sins and He died on the cross - but most importantly, He rose on the 3rd day, and He lives even now. I know He lives, and because He lives, we will all live again. I know this is true, and this is what I am most grateful for.
No comments:
Post a Comment