Thoughts on life

Life is but a quick moment in the expanse of eternity. This idea has been with me constantly these last few days. In the past few months two people who I have had the pleasure of knowing passed away. In July a guy I knew form a class passed away just a few short weeks after the birth of his first child. The most recent was a girl we know from a ward we were in a few months ago. She was five months pregnant with her first child and died in a car accident on the way home from school. Now, I did not know either of these people as close intimate friends but we talked and share a few memories. I grieve for their spouses and their families. I am sad for the child that was lost and for the child who lost her father. How grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who has provided a way for families to be together forever.
One concept which has been brought to the fore front of my mind is that of finding joy in my day to day life. Much too often I take for granted the kiss I receive when I wake up in the morning next to my loving husband. All too much I don’t appreciate the sound of little feet running over to ask me to kiss me goodnight. Little chubby hands which cup my face, a smiling daughter who looks at me, and when our eyes meet hers shine with joy. Little moments of the day when we spend time together as a family making dinner or just talking, always seem so usual. I have been brought to a stark realization that these things are blessings that I could someday not have. These past few days though I have grieved Angela’s death I have also woken up to life all around me. When Stephen died it wasn’t sudden. We knew for weeks that it was coming. I had a chance to say goodbye. To say my last I love you and to give my last kiss. It was hard and terrible but I had some closure. That does not always happen. I keep asking myself what people will remember about me if I were to die suddenly. What will Ella remember of her mother? I have decided to take more time to enjoy life, the everyday things. When Ella want to read a book at an inconvenient time, I am a lot more likely to sit down and actually do it. I am still living life and getting things done but instead of feeling the hum drum I am more grateful to be here to do it.
My mom sent me this quote by Marjorie Pay Hinckley,
"One of the ablest women in this country, now the wife of a university president, was brought up in poverty. She recalls an occasion when, as a girl, she complained of her hardships to her mother. "see here," said the mother. " I have given you life. That is probably all I will ever be able to give you. Now you stop complaining and do something with it."

"Each of us has some things we could complain about, but what good would it do? Complaining seldom changes anything."
I am striving to live life with less complaints and more joy. I am working to make the most of what I have and stop worrying about what I don’t. I’m working to be more open and to smile at people I pass by. Who cares what strangers think about me? I am going to be happy and enjoy things, maybe it will catch on and they will to. Life is too short to sit and complain. I hope that I can keep this new perspective. I am grateful for my family, for my life and my health. I am grateful for the plan of happiness that God has created so that we may live in Heaven again. What a wonderful country we live in that we are able to enjoy such beautiful lives!