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Gratitude

This conference talk given by Elder Holland
says what my heart means to say today about how much I am grateful for the Gospel in my life. I love
that the church is true anywhere you go in the world. I was looking through some Facebook pages the other
night of friends and Young Women's leaders of days gone by and I am thankful for the testimony that I was able to gain while growing up in the Fresno North Stake. Having such strong leaders in my youth has given me shining example of the kind of woman I want to become. One in particular, Danielle Lewis, is a woman I look up to. Aside from my mother, she is someone that I try to emulate because of her goodness, her testimony, and her love of the truthfulness of the Gospel.

 I'm thankful that I was able to strengthen that testimony before my mom passed away. I used to talk to my mom while she was under the stupor of morphine during those last few days of her mortal life. I wasn't sure if she could hear me, but I could feel her love. She is my example of the kind of person I want to become. I know she wasn't perfect, but she reflected the goodness of the Savior in everything she did. She worked hard, she loved and served everyone she knew, and she loved me. The people that she cleaned house for before she got too sick to keep working, told me that even if they weren't members of the same church as we were, they knew that she was a kind, loving woman. They never felt judged. They never felt like they were lesser than she was. They simply felt that, on some level, they could feel the love the Savior through her.
Kakalena'ane'lani - Kathleen, Heaven's Angel - she truly is.

I'm thankful for my family. They are by no means perfect. There are some things that they do that worry me, drive me nutty, make me wish that I was born into a different family, but at the end of the day, I love them. Sometimes I love them less. Sometimes I wish that they would do things differently. Sometimes I wish we all could just be honest with each other and lay it all out on the table. But I guess every family member has their secrets. Sometimes it's healthy to have secrets. Sometimes.

I'm thankful for the church and the instant friends my membership brings. I have a hard time making friends because I'm so introverted and as a general rule I people watch before I make up my mind about wanting to be friends with them. I'm starting to warm up to the people in my new ward. I can't remember half the names of the people that keep introducing themselves to me, but I'll remember them...I hope.

I'm thankful for technology. If used properly, it brings blessings. If not, it can eat you inside out. Because of technology, I can talk to my Grandma on the phone. I can communicate with family members who live hundreds of miles away. I can type these words and say things that I wouldn't be able to otherwise. I speak through the written word better than trying to actually speak them outloud. It's a head thing. I had to go to a specialist in the 4th grade because the connections between my brain and mouth are routed differently and yeah...I could try to explain it, but I really don't understand it myself. I just convey what I need to better through the written word far better than trying to actually speak the words that I mean to say.

Here are other things that I'm thankful for:



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Comments

Sarah Osborne said…
Nice post Joyce :) your mother is a beautiful person with a beautiful name.
November 15, 2010 at 12:06 PM
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