Blessed

As I reflect on my five decades on planet Earth, one word comes to mind -- blessed.  That one word summarizes my life.  I have been so extremely blessed throughout my life.

The hand of God is obvious throughout my life.  He blessed me with goodly parents who love me, who have sacrificed much for me, and most importantly who have taught me the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I feel so privileged and blessed to have the Gospel in my life. I consider it a privilege to be a member of the Lord's true church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And to have been taught the Gospel from my youth.  I have never had to experience mortality without the comfort and happiness the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings to my life.  For that I am so grateful.

I am blessed -- as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- to have the privilege of making covenants with the Lord throughout my life through various ordnances including baptism and temple ordinances.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to exercise my agency to try to keep those covenants that I've made and continue to make weekly as I partake of the sacrament. Covenants are always paired with promised blessings from the Lord. The Lord always keeps his end of the bargain.  This much I know.  My life is evidence of His countless blessings.

As hard as mortality is -- having a knowledge of our Heavenly Father's plan for us and striving to live the gospel of Jesus Christ has made my mortal journey much more bearable and much happier.  I honestly can't imagine going through the trials of mortality without the Gospel.  I don't know how people do it.

I have also been blessed with wonderful siblings who have been my angels on earth -- in addition to my parents of course.  My goodly parents sacrificed their golden years to care for me.  I am eternally grateful to be blessed with such a wonderful, loving, caring family.

I am also extremely grateful for the blessing of a beautiful, healthy body.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  Yes, it's true my body is no longer beautiful nor healthy.  And it hasn't been for nearly 2 decades.  But I still have a body which is more than Satan and his one third of the hosts of heaven can say.  So, even though my body is no longer healthy nor beautiful and is now far from perfect -- I am still extremely grateful for it.  And I know -- I don't think or believe -- I absolutely know that I will be resurrected one day with my body perfected.  I am so looking forward to that day when my spirit and body will be reunited in perfect form.  Not even one hair of my head will be lost.  How glorious will that be?

I am so grateful for the blessings of being born in the promised land -- the United States of America -- where I've been able to live in a free country where agency prevails.  That freedom comes at a cost.  I'm thankful for those who have sacrificed to keep this the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I am ever so grateful for the blessing of education in my life.  I have been blessed to receive much formal education and learn many truths in areas of study that interest me.  I am thankful for a sound mind that distinguishes truth from falsehoods.  I enjoy learning and I'm thankful to be blessed with opportunities for formal education.

Even though I grew up poor, I was blessed to always have what I needed and most of what I wanted.  I'm ever so grateful to my loving Heavenly Father who poured down so many blessings from heaven upon me. I'm so thankful for the comforts of life He has provided.

People might look at me and pity me or think I drew the short straw in life.  But they would be wrong.  I have been blessed beyond measure.

I see the hand of God in every aspect of my life.  Granted, our mortal journey is full of trials, hardships, and challenges.  But in a way, even those are blessings because that is how we learn, grow, and progress. Without opposition, without trials, without mortality we could not progress towards exaltation and eternal life.  So as strange as this may sound, I am even grateful for the blessings of the trials and challenges of mortality that help me to grow and progress towards becoming more like my Heavenly Father.

I could go on and on naming all of the blessings I've been given in my life.  But I don't have the energy and this is getting too long anyway.

Looking back over the past five decades, my life truly has been blessed so abundantly.  I am so thankful and eternally grateful for my loving Heavenly Father and older brother and Savior, Jesus Christ for opening the windows of heaven and pouring out blessings so abundantly upon me.

I am blessed beyond measure!

That's my two cents.