Chris was able to attend youth conference and shared a story from one of the devotionals with me. It is one that I already knew but needed to hear again. The story goes something like this:
A man sat on his porch enjoying the beauties of nature when a lone traveller came to him. The traveller asked the man if the town he lived in were a good place to live. The man on the porch said, "Well, what kind of town did you come from?" The traveller responded, "My town is dirty and full of people that are unkind. I don't like it at all. I can't wait to get out of it!" The man replied, "Well, then I'm thinking you are going to find that same thing here." So the traveller went on. Not too much longer another traveller approached and asked the man almost the same question as to what kind of town this was. The man replied to this traveller, "Tell me what your town is like that you come from." The traveller then proceeded to tell him how much he loved where he lived and that he was going to miss living there very much. The man told the man that he would probably find that same thing in this new town.
I didn't say much to Chris after he told me this story but the words sunk in. I have been so negative and I have not been seeing too much positive. I've been thinking that surely somewhere else I would be happier! How these words hit hard as I really came to see the truth in the fact that if I can't be happy here, why would I be able to be happy somewhere else?
Since that day, I have been focussing on the many blessings we have because we live here. Let me share just a few.
- My marriage has been strengthened through this whole experience. Why would I ever want to give this blessing up? It has been blessed to have an added measure of sweetness. Chris and I have had to cling to each other and we have discovered just how blessed we were to marry one another. Our friendship has been deepened and increased. I can honestly say that I have not been negative in regards to our marriage...it is and has been the one bright light in all my negative struggles!
- My kids LOVE it here! They are so happy in this place. I have asked on several occasions if they would like it if we moved away from here, even going so far as to ask if they would like to move back to the place we moved from. Each of them has given a resonding NO!
- I love the temple! I don't know if we moved away if we would ever be so blessed to live 5 minutes away from the temple. In fact we are able to form personal relationships with the temple presidency and the temple workers. It is so good to enter the House of the Lord and have each person know your name.
- I am grateful for my friends both here and in other parts of the country. Even as I have struggled they have helped me and been patient with me. They are such a blessing in my life!
- I love the safety of this place. I do not worry when my children go out to play. We are surrounded by wonderful neighbors who look out for us and help when we have needed it.
- And last but not least is the fact that I do love the people here. I have never met in such a large degree so many good, decent people. I love watching people interact with each other. There has been one time since living here that I have seen a customer get upset with the store clerk but I also saw this same customer apologize for losing his temper. It is just so refreshing!
