Among the many virtues that I have been taught throughout my life, is the virtue of gratitude. Unfortunately, in my early years, I was pretty slow to put the principle into practice. My failure to demonstrate gratitude made life difficult not only for those around me, but perhaps mostly for myself. Fortunately however, as the years go by, I make more and more progress.
Perhaps for most of us, some of our first lessons on gratitude were when our parent's would have to remind us to say "thanks" to Grandma and Grandpa after spoiling us again. I believe that gratitude involves much more than a mere vocal expression of "thank you". Surely true gratitude refers to the deeply felt appreciation for the source of those things that we receive.
The Vietnamese have a saying: "When eating a fruit,think of the person who planted the tree."
Today is Thanksgiving, a day set apart for the expression of gratitude. I love this day and the opportunity it brings to center our thoughts on our countless blessings. However, I hope I am getting better about expressing gratitude throughout the year, and not just on this day.
This week, on our family night, we had a lesson on this topic. In the lesson, we read a scripture that slightly changed my perspective on gratitude. The scripture is found in Doctrine and Covenants, section 59 verse 7:
Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.
Perhaps I am being too liberal in my interpretation of that short verse, but it suggests to me that we are commanded to be grateful for all things, not just those things that are pleasant or that we enjoy. Does that establish a much higher order of gratitude, where one actually feels appreciation for even our greatest afflictions?
Well, that will require a serious effort on my part. In the meantime, I intend to thoroughly enjoy this day. I would like to vocalize my gratitude, and give thanks to the Lord, my God, for the innumerable blessings he has placed in my life. I am unspeakably grateful for my wonderful wife and our two little ones, and that we can be together forever as a family. I am grateful to have been given the means to provide for my dear family. I am grateful to have been taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to have been blessed with a testimony of its truth. I am grateful to have been born and raised in one of the greatest nations that this world has ever seen. And, in that connection, no matter what the future may bring, I am grateful that I will forever be able to say that I once enjoyed much of the American brand of freedom that the founding fathers envisioned for us.
