Gratitude Day 27

There was a time in my life that I wasn't the most avid scripture reader.

There have been lots of times, actually, where reading scriptures was not high on my "to do" list.

In fact, there have been times that going to Sunday School wasn't on my "to do" list. A friend posted on Facebook that all the kids in her Sunday School class skipped out on her lesson. She said not even candy could compete with iphones and teenage hormones. Cue the guilt. Back in high school, we used to skip out on Sunday School every week to go sit, by ourselves, in an empty classroom hidden at the end of a hallway. We had a young, cool teacher. We just didn't want to go. There were no iphones. There were no boys (at least, most of the time there were no boys). Just hanging out, by ourselves. Being stupid teenagers. (So, Heather, it's not your fault! Teenagers are just . . . thoughtless.)

Sorry for the tangent. I've been thinking about it all afternoon and had to confess my wrongs. To all my Sunday School teachers, I am truly sorry. Anyway, back to the scripture reading.

In recent times, I've made it a point to read my scriptures every day. Even when it's 11:00pm and I am dead tired, I have to read my scriptures before I go to sleep. Drowsy scripture reading is not the recommended course of action, especially when one is reading Revelations. That makes for crazy dreams, my friends. Crazy, CRAZY dreams. But crazy dreams or not, I have to do it. I really do notice if I go a day or two without reading them. I'm crankier. I'm not as patient. All the trivial things in life blow out of proportion, and I have no eternal perspective. I get caught up in the thick of thin things. But when I do read my scriptures? Peace. Patience. Love. Our home has an added measure of the Spirit. And I can remember what is actually important (let me clue you, it's not what time we eat dinner).

I'm thankful for the scriptures, and the direction they give in my life. I'm thankful for the Spirit they bring to our family, and the lessons we can learn from them.