By Lacey Gunter
As the Thanksgiving holiday wanes and the Christmas holiday begins to wax, I seek to bridge both wonderful holidays with some brief thoughts on gifts and thanks.
On what is traditionally considered the first Thanksgiving, the Native Americans living on the North East coast of America had a gift, the gift of knowledge and skills. In a true act of humanity, these wonderful humans shared their gift with a group of immigrant settlers who would greatly benefit from it. I am confident those settlers were truly grateful for the acts of generosity from their Native American neighbors.
At this time and season in my life, as I reflect on the things I am grateful for, the obvious things emerge; family, friends, the gospel, the means to provide for ourselves, and the talents and knowledge we have been blessed with. Love is of course a key part of that list. But recently I have found myself being just as grateful for the abilities of others, as for those Heavenly Father has blessed me with. How grateful I am for the beautiful gifts of talent, knowledge and insight Heavenly Father has given to those who have been willing to work to perfect those gifts and have freely shared them with others. These gifts truly edify and enrich my life. They fill me with joy, peace and understanding.
As I reflect on those gifts, I am left to ponder over what gifts Heavenly Father has given to me that he desires I should cultivate and share with others. How can I edify and uplift those within my sphere of influence.
It is not always easy to discover what these are. While I am still not entirely confident what they are or should be for me, I am entirely confident on one thing. As I seek to discover and perfect these talents, my desire should be to benefit those around me, rather than to benefit myself. With this frame of mind, we truly find how we can make a lasting and valuable contribution to the world around us. It seems ironic, but by giving greater value to the welfare of others, we end up discovering our own infinite value.
I encourage each of you to recognize and give thanks for the gifts of others that have made your life better and then, in turn, seek out and share the special gifts you have uniquely been given to help and benefit others. My gratitude to all of you lovely Mormon Mommy Writers, you help me to see the world in new way. I will strive my best to do the same for you. God bless all in this lovely season.
As the Thanksgiving holiday wanes and the Christmas holiday begins to wax, I seek to bridge both wonderful holidays with some brief thoughts on gifts and thanks.
On what is traditionally considered the first Thanksgiving, the Native Americans living on the North East coast of America had a gift, the gift of knowledge and skills. In a true act of humanity, these wonderful humans shared their gift with a group of immigrant settlers who would greatly benefit from it. I am confident those settlers were truly grateful for the acts of generosity from their Native American neighbors.
At this time and season in my life, as I reflect on the things I am grateful for, the obvious things emerge; family, friends, the gospel, the means to provide for ourselves, and the talents and knowledge we have been blessed with. Love is of course a key part of that list. But recently I have found myself being just as grateful for the abilities of others, as for those Heavenly Father has blessed me with. How grateful I am for the beautiful gifts of talent, knowledge and insight Heavenly Father has given to those who have been willing to work to perfect those gifts and have freely shared them with others. These gifts truly edify and enrich my life. They fill me with joy, peace and understanding.
As I reflect on those gifts, I am left to ponder over what gifts Heavenly Father has given to me that he desires I should cultivate and share with others. How can I edify and uplift those within my sphere of influence.
It is not always easy to discover what these are. While I am still not entirely confident what they are or should be for me, I am entirely confident on one thing. As I seek to discover and perfect these talents, my desire should be to benefit those around me, rather than to benefit myself. With this frame of mind, we truly find how we can make a lasting and valuable contribution to the world around us. It seems ironic, but by giving greater value to the welfare of others, we end up discovering our own infinite value.
I encourage each of you to recognize and give thanks for the gifts of others that have made your life better and then, in turn, seek out and share the special gifts you have uniquely been given to help and benefit others. My gratitude to all of you lovely Mormon Mommy Writers, you help me to see the world in new way. I will strive my best to do the same for you. God bless all in this lovely season.
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