I am thankful for....

There are so many things that I am grateful for. I could never name them all..lol..

This week with my boys, we are doing a thankful jar as described in the Friend magazine this month. It has been a fun blessing for all of us. I love watching the boys come up with all sorts of random things that they are thankful for.

As I have pondered recently about what I am most thankful for I have come up with the usual....family, home, great mentors, friends, blah blah blah... There is so much more that I am thankful for. Deeper stuff ya know. The stuff that lies underneath that layer of your heart that gives meaning to the family, great mentors, friends and all of that blah blah blah.

Like depression. (Did you see that coming? Yeah me neither...)

It isn't a secret that I struggle with depression. As weird as this sounds, I can be thankful for these bouts of depression (within reason..lol..) It helps me really appreciate and love those days that I am happy and love life. The days that I have peace, that I smile easily, and the world is full of opportunities, full of love, full of acceptance. I am thankful for the sunny days. I am thankful that I have many more sunny days then black days.

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." Thomas Paine

And faith.

"Faith fuels hope... As it flows freely, our perspective changes; our vision becomes clearer. We begin to look for the best, not the worst, in life and in others. We gain a deeper sense of life's purpose and meaning. Despair gives way to joy." David Baxter

For me, faith is interconnected to hope. I have faith and hope that I will be able to raise my four amazing boys to be men of courage, valor, strength, and character. I have faith and hope that I will be guided to the mentors that we need that will help accomplish our family vision of being an eternal family. Everyone knows that raising children nowadays is difficult. Having faith in the eternal plan and knowing that we can be together forever as a family gets is through the hard times (like my dark days) and even strengthens our relationships.

"Strong moral character results from consistent correct choices in the trials and testing of life. Your faith can guide you to those correct choices." Richard G. Scott

Last year for our family vacation we decided to hike Delicate Arch in Moab. Now, for those that know me, you know that I am NOT an avid hiker. Not at ALL. It was probably the most difficult hike I have ever been on and it was only a couple of miles...with a fairly good incline. But we did it! And we did it as a FAMILY! We pulled and pushed each other (ok really it was just me that needed pushed and pulled..lol..) we constantly gave encouragement and we were all excited together once we arrived at our goal. This difficult experience was a great builder for our family. To work together at something HARD infused a sense of WE CAN DO IT among us. The boys still talk about it and how awesome it was to finish as a family.

That is what faith does for me. When life is painful-whether it is my depression or some other trivial thing- having faith that the difficult times will make me/us stronger. It will.

"when was anything really worthwhile easy?" Richard G. Scott

And I haven't even scratched the dust on the surface of what I am thankful for! I could go on and on about prayer, how it has given me such a beautiful testimony of eternal families, of the realness of my Savior and the personal knowledge that he has of me. But alas, I will expound on that another time. :-)

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving with those you love. What else is everyone thankful for--that isn't a typical seasonal gratitude