"How can that be?" you may ask. "You do not live in a mansion. You do not have fancy cars. You live in a small one bedroom apartment and drive car that doesn't even have air conditioning or a functioning CD player. How could you possibly call yourself one of the richest people in the world?"
And I would reply that I am rich because my small one bedroom apartment gives me all the warmth and shelter that I need. It is full of good food to give me energy and keep me healthy. It is even neat, clean, and comfortable. My car runs well and takes me all the places I need to go, and many other places that I want to go. My husband has a job that provides for all our material needs.
I am rich. I have been blessed with a healthy body that allows me to pursue the things I want to. I can walk, hike, run, bike, jump, ride a horse, wrestle, climb, paddle, shoot a basket, kick a ball, swing a racquet, lift weights, and dance.
I have ears to hear sweet sounds with, eyes to see the beautiful things in this world with, a nose to smell wholesome scents with, a voice to talk and sing with, and a mouth to eat with. I even have hands to work with and to help others with. I use these blessings to pursue talents I am blessed with and love.
Even more importantly, I am rich because I have many wonderful and supportive friends. They call me. They visit me. They email me. They read my blog or otherwise keep contact with me. They have brought cheer to my existence in the past, they bring joy to my life now, and they will continue to bring me comfort and satisfaction through the rest of my life. They have been and will continue to be superb examples to me.*
I also have a good and wonderful family that loves me. I cannot begin to describe how rich they had made my life and what a blessing they are to me. Especially important are my fantastic parents who have sacrificed so much and worked so hard for the benefit of me and my brothers.
I am also especially grateful for my amazing husband. I am continually astonished by how perfect he is for me. He is a great support, comfort, companion, friend, partner, and example. Words are not sufficient to express my feelings for him.
I am rich. I have a knowledge and understanding of the gospel that gives me hope and helps to pull me through tough times. I have scriptures and the words of prophets to counsel, guide, and comfort me. I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, listens to me, answers me, and provides me with all my other riches.
There is no question that I am tremendously rich.
*In doing this I realized how few pictures I actually have of most of my friends. So please don't be offended or worry if your picture isn't here! However even if I did have pictures of everyone, I probably couldn't reasonably fit them all here anyway.
7 comments:
Thank you for adding to my blessing account, as well.
Rebecca, this is a beautiful, beautiful post. I feel rich to count you as one of my friends. It was so good to see you last week! Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Great post, thanks for keeping me focused on what's really important!
This is awesome. And where are you two kayaking? That place looks amazing. I want to be there. I loved the picture of you painting too. Just shows how you nailed the landscape. I'd have thought they were photos if you weren't holding a brush up to them.
We are in Alaska kayaking on the Chilkoot Lake in that picture. I would definitely recommend going there; it is awesome! We wrote a whole post on our trip here if you want to see more pictures.
And just so you know, the other painting to the right of mine is Nate's. I was showing him some stuff about plein air painting that day. He didn't do bad at all for his first try at it!
You are a great woman. I love you! Thanks for a lovely post.
I read this awhile ago, when you posted it, and just reread it. It makes me happy. It's so beautifully articulated and reminds me of all I have in my life. I live a full and abundant life. Thanks for reminding me of that.
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