I have a friend who makes me smile every time I see her. She always gives me a big hug and sincerely asks how I am. Often, I forget to ask how she is because she makes me feel like I am the most important thing—me, and my life. And because she radiates love and joy, I often assume that all is well with her.
The irony is, that is just not true.
Her husband is embroiled in an ugly battle with his former employer and is currently out of work. She has a young son with disturbing mental issues. She fosters several teenage girls with varying troubles of their own. She is a woman, trying to make ends meet, trying to be a good mom, trying to be a good friend, just trying to get by.
If she were any other woman, I’m sure she would be crying on my shoulder. If she were any other woman, she wouldn’t be any of the things I admire so much about her. Despite her challenges, she is happy and she lets that happiness shine on all those around her so that they are cheered and uplifted as well.
I’ve had occasion to talk with her about how she can be so happy, despite all that fights to bring her down. Her response? Gratitude.
She is grateful for a loving husband who wants to work and is capable of work. She is grateful for her children and the opportunity she has to be their mother. She is grateful that she can offer a safe and loving home to children in need. She is grateful for friends who hug her when she needs a hug—never mind that is us who feel are being hugged by her, it’s the same regardless, we are all getting hugs!
Cicero, the great Roman orator, claimed that gratitude was “not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others” (Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Plancio, 54 b.c..)
Our Father in Heaven knows that being thankful is a hallmark of happiness. In the Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of modern day revelation given to the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or Mormons,) God said, “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things” (D&C 59:7.) He has also admonished that “in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments” (D&C 59:21.)
My friend has learned this and taken it to heart. She practices this principle daily and stands as an example of its truthfulness. She has truly learned to “live in thanksgiving daily” (Alma 34:38.)
President Joseph F. Smith, former leader of the Mormon Church, proclaimed:
“The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life. Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 263.)
Can you imagine what my friends’ life might be like if she chose not to be thankful in all things? Perhaps it would look a little more like mine, or yours. But can you see how such a small act as being thankful can make such a difference in the life one woman, one family—and how that difference could be magnified in you and me? We could start an epidemic of happiness, just by choosing to be thankful today and every day.
