LEWISLAND: Giving Thanks

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, it's hard to know where to start with this post. I thought I might give you my top ten... but they are all very predictable...My Faith, my family, my country, my health and the health of my children are all things I am so very thankful for. Sometimes I marvel at the love that God has shown to me.

Gordon B. Hinkley said," We would do well, to cultivate within ourselves a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessing of life itself and for the marvelous gifts and privileges we enjoy. The Lord has said that "the meek shall inherit the earth". It is difficult to escape the interpretation that, rather than an attitude of self-sufficiency, meekness implies a spirit of gratitude, an acknowledgement of a greater power beyond oneself...Gratitude is the beginning of wisdom. Stated differently, true wisdom cannot be obtained unless it is built on a foundation of true humility and gratitude."

Speaking of "true wisdom", something I have been thinking about a lot lately is a book I read many years ago called the "Hiding Place" by Corrie Tenboom. In it, she, along with her sister Betsy and her father, are captured by the Nazi's for helping Jews hide, and placed in a concentration camp where she is humiliated, brutalized, starved and living in filthy flea-infested conditions. Betsy insisted that Corrie give thanks to God for the fleas... which she eventually did, although, grudgingly. An amazing thing then began to take place...the flea ridden conditions caused the guards to stay away, instead of assaulting the women as they had many times before. It was a blessing which allowed the prisoners to hold prayer meetings and read from a bible that they had miraculously smuggled in.

The lesson for me. Yes, there is an economic "crisis", yes, the future is uncertain and our children are being raised in a world that is flooded with all forms of immorality. The prospect for many of us raising children is terrifying. But today I am going to focus on thanking God for the struggles and obstacles that he has put before me. Those trials that he allows me and each of us pass through are also the same things that expand our hearts and make us look to him with trust and faith, ultimately leading us to unseen blessings and "true wisdom". Today in my own imperfect way, I am thankful for my struggles, for the experiences of loss, of loneliness, and of opposition. I am going to think of fleas..and give thanks!

Love to all of you and Happy Thanksgiving!

So glad to have Sarah, Tim, Lewis and Stanley to visit!