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Winter semester started on January 7, 2019 and I took the
opportunity to study the New Testament. I have never read through the whole Bible
and I have never really taken the time to “study” it. I ordered the New
Testament Student Manual to study along with the scriptures. I did this while I
studied the Book of Mormon and I love it! The Study Manual has so many insights
and commentaries that help me understand the scriptures a bit more.
This semester I also chose to focus and improve my “thankfulness”.
There is much to be thankful for. I have always considered myself to be a thankful
person. However, after last year's mental health struggles that Doran and I
fought, I had an experience that forced me to understand a new meaning of being
thankful. When times are good it is easy to say how thankful we are, but when
times are tough, it is harder to see clearly.
One of the things I read about this past week was in Matthew
4:18-22 and Matthew 4:23. In these scriptures, it explains how everyone can be “healers”
like the Savior, in that we can help heal others through our service. Even the
small, simple acts of love and service can mean a great deal to someone else.
When I was having a particularly bad day, a friend dropped some candy and a
note off on my doorstep. It may have been just a small gesture for her, but it “healed”
my broken mind and heart that day.
We don’t need to wait until Thanksgiving season rolls around
to express our thankful hearts. We should be more mindful daily, all year round,
of the many blessings we have been given. We can also do acts of service all
year round and not just during the Christmas season. On my car visor I have a
card that says, “Who needs me today?”. I need to look for opportunities and listen
closer to the promptings that I receive and make sure that I act on those
promptings, because, I may need to help “heal” someone that day.
