Gratitude

 

Week 13
3/24/21
 
“We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude.” (Thomas S. Monson, An Attitude of Gratitude, General Conference April 1992)

This week’s focus is on a journey of gratitude. The practice of gratitude has played a large role in my life. My minutes, hours, days, and weeks go better when I remember to exercise gratitude.

In President Monson’s address he lists a few seemingly simply things to be grateful for. One of them is mothers. He says “Mother, who willingly made that personal journey into the valley of the shadow of death to take us by the hand and introduce us to birth—even to mortal life—deserves our undying gratitude. One writer summed up our love for mother when he declared, “God could not be everywhere, and so He gave us mothers.”

I grew up with a single mother who sacrificed much so that I could have plenty. We lived with my grandmother for most of my life because my mother could not afford to rent/mortgage while also providing for my brother and I. My mother’s childhood was filled with sorrow and she was determined that ours would not be. She did not have the opportunity to graduate from high school and therefore was in a job that did not bring in a lot of money. She always pushed me to do my best and ensured I was able to graduate high school and continue onto to college. I was able to graduate with my associates before I started a family of my own. My kids are now growing, and I want to show my gratitude to my mother and be an example to my children by finishing my bachelor’s degree.