Dreams

I saw a post my niece had commented on in which the discussion was on what specific things people as children had marked as signs of "making it" or "wealth". 

Of course there was a large spread, but the list included things like having more than one car.

A fridge that has an ice dispenser in the door. 

A/C.

A pool.

A basketball hoop with the plexiglass backboard.

Cereal from the boxes, not bags.  

Owning your own VCR instead of renting the one at Blockbuster.

Hamburger Helper.  

A pantry- having enough food to need to keep it somewhere!

I immediately began to notice how many of those things I have in my life now.  And began to feel a bit more humbled and a lot more grateful.

Then I kept reading.

Pillows.  

Blankets.

Meat.

Water that's always on.

Having a birthday party. 

I looked around again.  The stack of medical bills and prescriptions are still piled up on the side of the fridge.  And mission payments start this month. 

But the Lord has helped provide, often through generous family and friends.  And by helping us make wise decisions and often saying no to extras that it sometimes turns out really weren't needed at all. 

But that fridge has an ice machine.  You have to bang it now and then but it works and keeps our food cold. 

My pantry door is missing the handle and needs another coat of paint, but there is food in there - enough to share.  Including Hamburger Helper and cereal - some in the bags.

Our cars have 400,000+ miles on them and lots of dings and dents.  But they keep running and get us to work. 

How easy it is to focus on what we don't have or what things aren't. 

When in fact,  for many of us, the very thing we are complaining about is someone else's dream.   

President James E Faust instructed, "The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us. President J. Reuben Clark said, “Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the part of cherishing them.”

I love that!  Our job is to cherish what we have! 

What a simple way to shift our attitudes and appreciate what we have right now.  We still have to find solutions and work hard and sacrifice. 

But we can also find joy in the waiting with the dreams all around us.  Even in a bowl of Hamburger Helper.