Third Day of Thanksgiving

1. Kelly
2. Family
3. Potential for motherhood

My thoughts have been directed towards motherhood often these days --not because it's less than 9mos. away! --but because it's possible. In an email to my friend Kristen I wrote, "It has been a sacred experience to begin to ponder about what motherhood really means (and entails). . . The most meaningful lesson I've learned thus far is that the pairing of sacrifice and grace is the essence of motherhood." In her reply, Kristen added, "We are offered the chance to understand the Savior and develop attributes he has, through the most demanding of relationships-- being a wife and mother to children."

I am grateful for the eternal nature of family, not just that I can live with my family eternally, but that "family" is an eternal principle --a thread of continuity from our former existence, through this life, and into the next. In each stage of our existence we find meaning and growth through our roles within the family. Family and motherhood are divinely instituted and we can be divinely directed and supported as we grow into our roles. I am grateful for the opportunity and the grace.