Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Out to Sea

For the past several months, I have felt like a little boat, being tossed around on a tempestuous sea.
It feels dark.
And windy.
And uncertain.
And without a definite direction.

Out to sea.

I have felt anchored by one thing, and that is faith.

It's the one sure tether, ironically the one wave that eventually leads back to shore.

This morning, while I was out running, I was listening to this talk.  I felt fed by the message, and will share a portion of it here.
In November, we hung this tree on our fridge and filled it with blessings, big and small.  
Pres. Uchtdorf says:

"We can choose to be grateful, no matter what.

This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us.  It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair.  It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer.

When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation.  In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise.  In pain, we can glory in Christ's Atonement.  In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven's embrace.

We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is.  How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?

Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances.  It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges.

This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul.  It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind."

I love the idea of gratitude coming from the soul, a pattern and peace that permeates life amid the confusion and turmoil, the messy and the mundane.  

Yes.

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