Earlier this week while working in my little 15' x 15' garden I was blessed to harvest about 20 lbs of produce. Beautiful red ripe tomatoes, fresh green beans, sweet plump raspberries, grapes and abundant green zucchini and crookneck squash. Not an unusual day in the garden actually . . . but I never fail to be taught one of life's greatest lessons while 'getting my hands dirty' so to speak. I'm sure that's what the prophet had in mind when he encouraged each of us to plant a garden (someday I'll get around to writing a book about all the lessons I've learned from MY garden).
As my day began earlier that morning I thought for sure I was learning a lesson in patience and frustration as I found myself more and more behind on many deadlines and projects. Then as always seems to happen to us at the most inopportune times--my computer and printer began to malfunction. Frustrated, I stomped out to the garden just hoping for a handful of raspberries to go on top of my cereal, but instead found that in the last few days it had become overflowing with beautiful fruits ready for harvest. As I worked for the next couple hours searching amongst the vines for the hidden green beans, and picking through the prickly raspberries for all the treasures, I had much cause to reflect with gratitude for our Heavenly Father's greatest and abundant blessings.
My garden was free of bugs this year, and unusual occurrence, it continues to produce much food that will delight my family far into the Fall and Winter, and two hours of reaching and stretching has got to be good for you--right?! As I reflected on my blessings I was humbled, my frustration alleviated and replaced with a grateful heart, another blessing from a loving Heavenly Father. What a blessed people we are, even in times such as these, we can pause to reflect and have an attitude of gratitude. President Monson reminds us "This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunitiese are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such a s teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice and friends who help. We can lift ourselves and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thoughts and cultivate within our hearts and attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."
