So Grateful

Naturally this time of year my thoughts turn to what I am most thankful for. Of course at the top of the list are my family, my religion, a roof over my head, Greg's job, our health, an abundance of food & clothes. But as I went to Stake Standard night with the Young Women last night I started to really think about all the things we have to be grateful for every day. The family that spoke talked about their humanitarian project in Ecuador and showed a lot of pictures of the people and their living conditions.

At the top of my list that I need to be more grateful for is my washing machine! Yes, I grumble to Greg about all the laundry I have to do, but how easy it is to throw a load into the washer & then the dryer. These people are hand washing everything they own (which sadly is not a lot) which leads me to my next thing- our material posessions.

Greg and I are not wealthy by any means, yet our closets are overflowing with clothes and toys. These children are lucky if they have one outfit and maybe one toy. But how they treasure that one toy:) While my girls are so spoiled that it doesn't mean anything to them if one gets lost or broken. These children would stand in line so patiently to receive a toy or a piece of candy and they were so polite and almost reverent about it. I think my girls would probably be jumping up and down and impatiently waiting:)

Another thing is our flat garden. Greg & Bryan planted our garden at Murrell's house this year and had a fairly easy time of it. The Ecuadorians have to plant ALL their gardens on the side of steep hills and then harvest them on the hills while trying not to roll down them.

Another thing is our education. Some of the children there walk 2 hours one way to get to a school. And the teachers are scraping to get paper & other school supplies to even teach the children. Our kids never want for those things.

And what about our dishwasher, microwaves, & vehicles? These people walk everywhere they go- often carrying a baby or toddler on their backs.

And our homes- these people mostly live in cinderblock buildings with dirt floors and uncovered windows the size of our bedrooms.

And what about our health care? Here we are as a country complaining about our health care system when we are still able to get any care we need at basically any time. These people have no dentists, eye doctors, or medical doctors. We are SO spoiled!

Anyway, I hope we can all focus more on what we DO have instead of all the things we think we need that we are lacking. We are truly so blessed:)