Day 301, October 28

In working on a writing project, I discovered that I had to delete several pages, thousands of pages. It was a painful process. After all, I had shed tears and sweat over writing those words. But they didn't work, and they needed to go. Reluctantly, I pressed the delete button.

There. It was done.

It got me to wondering why it isn't as easy to press the delete button on other aspects of my life. Why can't I make a clean sweep of my sins and faults and weaknesses? Do I want to hold onto them, as I wanted to hold onto those pages, even though they are no longer working

I'm ashamed to admit that the answer is yes. I do want to hold onto to certain behaviors. They may hold me back. They may keep me from achieving my goals. They may even take away the possibility of new pleasures and joys in my life. But, darn it, they're mine. They're familiar. They're comfortable. They fit me.

Fortunately, the Father has provided a delete button. It's called repentance. And it's available to everyone.

So, for today, I am grateful for delete buttons, on the computer and in life.

Day 300, October 27

Doing the right thing for the right reason. How many times have we heard those words? Sometimes, it is difficult enough to do the right thing. Putting that together with the right reason ups the ante.

Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reason? I have. I've done the "right" thing for any number of less-than-noble reasons. I've done the "right" thing because I didn't want others to know how lazy and selfish I truly am. I've done the "right" thing because I wanted others to ascribe pure motives to me.

How foolish and short-sighted is that. The Father knows all. He knows the workings of my mind. More, he knows the motives in my heart. Those times when I do manage to do the right thing for the right reason fill me with incredible joy.

So, for today, I am grateful for those people who do the right things for the right reasons.

Day 299, October 26

If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf
that doesn't know it is part of a tree.

- Michael
Crichton

As you have probably figured out by now, I love words, especially those found in inspiring quotes. The above quotation reached in and captured my imagination.

The older I get, the more I appreciate heritage, especially my personal heritage. My ancestors, on both my mother and my father's side, were stalwart men and women. They sacrificed for their children, for their beliefs, for their faitih.

My Mormon ancestors suffered from persecution and abuse that I am only beginning to understand and deplore. What must it have been like, to be driven from one's home, family, and friends?

My Tennessee ancestors endured their own share of trials and poverty. Scraping out a living during the Great Depression, my mother's family clung to their pride and their faith at a time when many people abandoned both.

I started this post with a quote about history. So why am I writing about my ancestry? Because it is my personal history. If I don't know where I came from, how will I know where I am going?

So, for today, I am grateful for heritage.

Day 298, October 25

The year is nearly over. Leaves litter the ground. The days are growing shorter, the nights longer. And my year of being grateful (on this blog) will draw to a close in two short months. What will I do after that?

I hope I will continue to be grateful, to look for the good in life. I hope that my gratitude is not so ephemeral that I can't find it in me to thank the Father for His blessings without the prompt of this blog.

As I've mentioned before, friends and followers and faith have kept me going this long. Several people have been kind enough to leave comments on the blog, to share their thoughts and feelings about the postings. I wonder what would happen if we left "comments" for everyone in our lives?

Would we be kinder, gentler, more Christ-like if we spent a few seconds telling someone that we appreciate him or her? Would our homes, our churches, our workplaces, indeed, the entire world be a more beautiful place if we gave a compliment, a word of praise, a small kindness that was unexpected by the recipient?

I like to speculate on these things. Maybe it's the writer in me who wonders "What if?" What if we all resolved to say one kind word, perform one act of kindness, offer one extra prayer of thanks a day? Could we change the world? Or maybe, just maybe, we could change ourselves. And then we, imperfect mortals that we are, could change the world, or at least, our little part of it.

I don't know. I'd like to think so, though.

So, for today, I am grateful for unexpected kindnesses.

Day 297, October 24

Yesterday I wrote about using green corrective concealer. A disaster. When I discovered that it didn't work for me, I got rid of it, literally tossed it in the trash.

Why isn't it as easy to dispose of other things in my life that don't work? Why can't I dispose of my sins, my weaknesses, my selfishness, and other flaws by simply tossing them in the trash? Unfortunately, that seems to be beyond my capabilities.

Finding new behaviors to replace old ones that no longer work is difficult. It takes wisdom. It takes self-discipline. It takes hard work. These are all things that are in short supply, at least in life.

What is in your life that you'd like to replace? Do you have a problem with procrastination? Are you prone to entertaining negative thoughts? Does discouragement plague you? I wish I could wave a magic wand and make your problems (and mine) disappear.

Fortunately, we have a Friend who can take our sins and weaknesses unto Himself. He can't make them disappear, but He can give us the strength and faith and courage to overcome them.

So, for today, I am grateful for a Friend in Christ.

Day 296, October 23

A few days ago, I tried some "corrective concealer" to cover up the dark circles under my eyes. Imagine my surprise when I squirted a bit of the cream on my fingers and found that it was green. Yes, green! A pretty springtime green, but green all the same.

I decided the manufacturers must have had a reason for that so I gamely dabbed some under my eyes and tried to blend it in. It didn't. Blend, that is. I spent the next fifteen minutes working to get this green gunk off my face, then off my hands, then off the bathroom counter.

Lesson learned: green concealer is not for me. Or for anyone.

The experience caused me to think of what other kinds of concealer I use in equally vain attempts to correct things wrong with myself. Do I use shopping to lift my spirits when I'm feeling down? Do I gossip about other people to make me feel better about myself? Do I indulge in self pity-parties and then drag others in with me?

Are these and other such behaviors not the equivalent of green concealer? If so, why do I do them? I don't have an answer, at least, not a good one.

Why don't I turn to the Savior to find the "corrective" action that I need? Why don't I turn my sins and weaknesses and frailities over to Him and allow Him to do what He has promised?

So, for today, I am grateful for the Savior's corrections.

Day 295, October 22

Stories of families being "upside down" in their mortgages abound in the news. It was just in the past few years that I learned what being upside down meant: people owe more on the mortgage than the house is worth. As I try to wrap my mind around that, I realize that I am downside up on my gratitude to the Father.

Yes, you read correctly. I am downside up in the gratitude department

Surely what the Father gives me is worth far more than the paltry bits of thanks that I offer Him. He gives me life. He gives me family. He gives me friends. He gives me faith. What more can I ask?

A lot, it seems.

My prayers are full of "give-me's." Despite my best efforts to focus on my blessings, every other phrase in my prayers seems to be, "Please do this. Please do that. Please bless ..." And the list goes on.

As in so many areas of my life, I am a work in progress. I keep trying. I keep working on myself. I keep praying for strength and endurance.

So, for today, I am grateful for reminders to be grateful.