Christmas Gratitude

I want to do two people a day, male and female, and i feel great about that. Meaning I think the Lord likes this idea of me expressing gratitude in abundance.

I've spent a lot of time around this man in a bunch of different capacities. I've been friends with his son all growing up and so i spent a lot of time in his home. The level of loving involvement in his children's lives has always been inspiring. He has always had a demanding career but it was always secondary to his children in their progression in all forms.

If this man doesn't know how to help you, he will learn what he needs to do in order to be of service. I used to ask him how i would get better at certain things that i thought might be within his expertise (now i know my question were pretty outlandish) and he would research and spend the necessary time to teach me how to better myself.

During my youth, there was a pretty consequential period of time when i was under his spiritual tutelage. He just got it. He knew how to help all us boys stay active, involved, and learning the important lessons in life. S

uch as with service; he'd be right there with us... more then with us, ahead of us, jumping in before we even had a chance to complain. When i think of the amount of money he spent on us boys, it k

ind of blows my mind. Without flinching. At the time, i just kind of thought of it as awesome, ya know, him having a lot of money, no big deal. But that wasn't his calling. That wasn't even close to his responsibility.

As i've grown older, my relationship with this man has matured and grown. He shares and lets you share with him. He still has many young adults at his place all the time and he cares for them far beyond responsibility or his peers or any reason other then love. Whether he's buying food specifically for the people he knows will be there or, as is the case one morning, waking up a few of us with breakfast burritos and making sure none of us would be late for work.

Maybe these things

seem small, but sometimes you just understand how people show love, and this is how he d

oes it. He has given me such a great perspective on what's really important, showing me another way in which i can serve and make a difference in peoples lives. To this day, my friends and I can't help but commenting on how he's one of our all time favorite people whenever his name comes up.

Every so often, the Lord will bring people into my life that i know I could specifically aid them with love and caring born of the Gospel and a good home. When I was younger, I met a lot of teens who were in desperate need of that influence. It was a great blessing to me to be able to be a blessing to other peoples lives. I met a girl who was about a sweet of an individual as i've ever had the pleasure of meeting, both in spirit and demeanor. She was innocent and tender, bright and happy. There was a burden there, but she didn't let it effect how she treated her people from day to day.

I got to know her, knowing she needed something, being drawn to that. She was not a member of the church but she felt like it. I found out soon after becoming acquainted that her mother had ovarian cancer and had been battling it for six years. Then, she had a pretty serious surgery herself. I watched as so many people came to visit her and show their love and support. I watched as things got worse for her mom and how she never let it effect how she treated people.

i had many talks with this girl as we grew up, many deep and personal and even exploratory. I watched as gospel principles lit up her life. I watched her grow and surpass me in a lot of areas.

Do you need something? she'll help however she can. Are you sad or lonely? she was always there.

Perpetually happy. Not easily offended. Quick to forgiveness. Characteristically selfless. Generous. Loving.

It wasn't until years later that i realized how much I learned from her when i thought i had done all the teaching. It was a bit of a revelation to realize how much she had shaped my life. I suddenly became very grateful for the humble girl who gave me the opportunity to share my testimony. She was and is an amazing individual. She's making so much of her life and i'm so proud of who she has become. When it's all said and done, I think i'm probably more enriched for our friendship then she ever was.