Pumpkin Pie, Humble Pie

The morning of Thanksgiving I woke up feeling less than grateful.  I was tired from having just flown in the night before from visiting branches in our mission and I knew that the next day we would fly out again to the nethermost parts of our mission to do interviews and visit more branches. I hate to fly. And I was missing being with my family on my favorite holiday. I was also bummed about missing my niece perform with David Archuleta and being left out of all the fun of the Celebration of Christ Interfaith Concert. I was grouchy and started out my Thanksgiving Day festivities with a pretty good sized pity party.

Suddenly I saw my face on the man that was in the story President Uchtdorf told who kept wanting more bread.  It was me!  My face was on the body of that fat ungrateful man.  (Although President Uchtdorf didn't say the man was fat, he would have had to have been given all the bread he kept eating.) I was letting the things that I didn't have right then, blind me to the feast of blessings that I did have. I needed to repent.

I thought about my nephew, Christian, serving his mission right now and being away from his family for his first Thanksgiving in the mission field.  Thinking of him and his wonderful attitude inspired me to remember that it is always a great privilege to do anything that might be hard for us if we do it for the Lord.

I decided I'd better look at the abundance of blessings I had right within my reach. In doing so, I discovered the banquet being placed before me even though I was refusing to savor the many dishes  offered me, insisting on being served only the ones I could not have.

Here is a sampling of blessings I feasted on from my own personal menu this past week that testifies that truly "He doth fill the hungry with good things." (Luke 1:53)

When I served the office elders our Thanksgiving dinner, and I saw the American elders almost weep with joy over tasting the familiar delights of a traditional Thanksgiving meal ( and a very simple one, at that) it brought me great joy and filled the hole in my heart.


Having the elders be thrilled over every little detail of the meal also made me happy. They even thought the lame little turkey cupcakes I made were wonderful! And they acted like they loved my Lincoln speech.

Seeing the Brazilian elders delight in tasting pumpkin pie for the first time and act out the First Thanksgiving.

Having a husband who I knew was also feeling the pangs of being away from home only he didn't feel sorry for himself and was still so loving and kind.

Saturday evening we were out in a very hot and dusty town doing a fireside for a branch.  We were sitting there in a small room sweating and waiting for the meeting to begin and I was tempted to once again think about how I'd rather have been in Utah watching the concert, when one of my precious young friends in the branch, who I had only met once before on our first visit there, ran up and threw his arms around me. And then I saw this bookmark on the floor beside my chair.  I hardly ever see anything written in English here.  I think it was a message meant for me in spite of the awkward translation.

Feeling the faith and love of these young people in this branch touches my heart. Here are two of the valiant YM serving faithfully in this tiny branch. They are preparing to serve missions.

Hearing these YM and YW sing their hearts out in a choir number in Sacrament meeting.

Having the opportunity to bear testimony of the Restored Gospel and the Book of Mormon to this investigator who came to Church for the first time at one of the branches we were at.

Seeing Valdeci, the man we saw get baptized several months ago when we first visited his branch, progressing and growing stronger in faith and testimony. Here he is as I pictured him on this blog back in August and pictured now. Is it just me, or can you tell a difference in his face from then and now!  Then

Now

Eating at the home of this good Branch President and his family on Sunday.  He is a successful surgeon and helps shoulder the needs of those in his branch both temporally and spiritually.

And then I heard that the Celebration Of Christ Concert was a spectacular hit!  I was so grateful for that blessing and even though I wasn't able to be there I am so thankful for all of you who participated and attended.

So, these are just a sampling of the many blessings I experienced this week.  Does it mean these things made me stop missing all of you at home and what was going on there?  No. But it does tell me that the Lord won't leave us hungry. He can fill the hole in our hearts even if it isn't with the specific thing we think we are needing. Even when we don't get fed exactly the dish we are yearning for, we will be nourished nonetheless if we open our hearts in gratitude to Him and to the many different ways He is able to bless us to feel His love.

As President Uchtdorf said."Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our perceptions and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy toward our fellowmen...It allows our souls to expand...

I am grateful for the expansion process that had to take place in my own soul this past week. And for the vision correction I needed. I am grateful for both the Pumpkin pie and the Humble pie that I needed to be served.

I have been greatly fed an abundance of blessings throughout my life.  I have feasted upon the bread of life. I am grateful to have an opportunity to be part of the work of offering that sweet bread now to the good people here in Brazil.