Gratitude

Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessing of life and for the marvelous gifts and privileges each of us enjoy. The Lord has said that the meek shall inherit the earth. (See Matt. 5:5.) I cannot escape the interpretation that meekness implies a spirit of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgment of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God, and an acceptance of his commandments. This is the beginning of wisdom. Walk with gratitude before him who is the giver of life and every good gift.
     ~Gordon B. Hinckley 


I feel like I need to express some gratitude.  Today I went to a special guest lecture about children's narratives and play.  It was so interesting.  The first thing I am grateful for is the opportunity I have to learn and spend so much time thinking.  I love learning; it is so exciting to figure something out that you don't already know.  


Also at this lecture was a group of people who have been super influential in my life with out realizing it.  There were a lot of FCS faculty there, all of whom I had taken classes from.  I ran in to Dr. Herrin, who I have taken three classes from- he wrote me letters of recommendation for my applications.  Dr. Isabella taught the Intro to Human Development class that got me started in this direction.  Dr. Brehl is an awesome human being first of all.  She is also an awesome teacher.  She got me interested in doing research and connected me with Holly and Cecilia.  Speaking of Cecilia, she  was there too.  She has totally taken me under her wing and has been such a great resource and support.  She calls her grad students her babies, and even though I am not one of her grad students she has adopted me into her academic family.  Really that's what these people are.  They are my academic family.  I am often astounded by how generous every one is.  I am so blessed to have been led to such a great group of people.  It was just striking to see all these people in one room!  The only ones who were missing today were Holly and Stacia. 


Then I started thinking about all the people in my family family and my neighborhood family and my friend family.  There are so many amazing people in this world.  I'm sure that none of them have a clue how much I watch them and look up to them.  The way people have reached out to me since the crap storm known as my father passed through has just blown me away.  Going back even further, my amazing family has always been so supportive and close to me.  This is no easy task considering how many of us there are! (10 aunts and uncles, 32 first cousins, 10-ish second cousins, plus the in-laws...and counting!) My ward is the most amazing group of people who really are like another extended family that I have; they are (for the most part) great at taking care of each other.  


This might sound like a back-door brag, and I don't mean it that way at all, but I am surprised by how much people care about me.  I am just me and yet there is this whole network of people (at school, at church, in the neighborhood, in my family...especially in my family) who bend over backwards for me on a regular basis.  It really encourages me to want to be better and be that support to others.  And I need to be better at doing what President Hinckley said- acknowledging God's hand in my life and being grateful for that.  So this is me doing that now; I know that He has led me to where I am now.  I know that I am in His hands.  And I am so very thankful for all that I have been given and been able to experience.