Sunday, April 15, 2012

Thankful Thoughts...

What surprised me this week...

This Friday our last child will graduate from college. I've obviously known this for quite some time, but the reality of it surprised me this week. I'm so grateful that all of our children have had the opportunity to receive a higher education. Each has grown in knowledge, maturity and wisdom during his/her college years. Although our current graduate will be moving on to an advanced degree, it's good to know that he's the last in a long line of siblings that can call themselves "alumni!"

What inspired me this week...

Back in November when my husband and I had our master bath and bedroom remodeled, there was one wall -- above the dresser in our bedroom -- that was obviously bare and in need of a little dressing. Inspiration was slow in coming, however, so the wall remained unadorned. We knew eventually we would come across something that would strike our fancy, but until then we were content to wait until we found a treasure that we could appreciated.


That day came this week. We had admired a painting in a favorite store when we were in Utah last month, but the feasibility of bringing it home with us on a plane was daunting. This week I received a catalog in the mail and realized the painting was being offered at half-price with free shipping. Within moments the cash register went cha-ching, and it arrived two days later...


We're so glad we waited until just the right piece of art came along. It's beautiful and the symbolism in the painting is meaningful to both of us.


This painting is of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. If you ask different members of our church what our temples symbolize to them, you'd probably get many different answers. To me they make me think of "family, commitment and covenants with God." These are good things to consider and be reminded of when I awake in the morning and go to sleep at night. That's why this painting inspires me.