We all get caught up in our day to day tasks that we can forget to notice and remember all the amazing things that are happening for us. In High School, I use to keep a Blessing Journal, some call them Gratitude Journals. Every day I would find at least 5 blessings from my day, whether it was something as simple as, "I woke up on time today" to something more specific like, "My sister asked me today if I wanted to go to the same college as her and be her roommate." Keeping that journal was such a wonderful blessing of its own in my life. By reflecting on my day and finding the little blessings that happened, even the worst of days was shown to have been a good one. God is always there blessing our lives, it can be hard to see and notice if we aren't paying attention. Henry B. Eyring shares a beautiful quote about finding and writing the ways God has blessed you each day.
"As you start to write, you could ask yourself, "How did God bless me today?"
If you do that long enough and with faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings.
And sometimes, you will have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice
during the day, but which you will then know were a touch of God's hand in your life."
-Henry B. Eyring, "Remembrance and Gratitude" (Oct. 1989)
Click here to view the complete talk.
Click here to view the complete talk.
God's hand is always there guiding our life. When you reflect at the end of each day, you will come to notice how God is guiding your path and providing a way for you through big acts as well as by small and simple means. People tend to reflect only on the big events that occur around them, but we need to remember, "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass...the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes."(Alma 37: 6-7) A small, simple act can make the world of a difference, especially in terms of someone's salvation. As small things can build up one's salvation, they can also tear it down.
M. Russell Ballard shares in his talk "Small and Simple Things":
"A series of seemingly small but incorrect choices can
become those little soul-destroying termites that eat away at the
foundations of our testimony until, before we are aware,
we may be brought near to spiritual and moral destruction." (April 1990)
He shares a story about a couple that had always been strong in the church, but small, yet incorrect decisions added up and almost destroyed their marriage. Seemingly harmless things like a little debt here and there, or a demanding work schedule; but, those seemingly simple, little things are "like weak fibers that form a yarn, then a strand, and finally a rope, these small things combined together can become too strong to be broken. We must ever be aware of the power that the small and simple things can have in building spirituality. At the same time, we must be aware that Satan will use small and simple things to lead us into despair and misery."
The small events and choices are what determine the direction of our lives. We can not neglect them or think of them as things of naught. The Lord will guide your way, but you also have to be willing to follow. I know that by doing the small, simple things like reading our scriptures, praying with our families, obeying the commandments, and thanking our Father in Heaven for the many blessings in our lives, we can live a life of eternal joy and peace.
