Blessings

We moved last week.
The house is full of boxes and furniture in various states of being put away. Still, it's a nice change for us- a new place to start a new phase of our lives. I'm not talking about children, I'm talking about my husband going to college.
He lost his job this spring. Messy business. Got a new job, but making significantly less. So it was time to tighten our belts and redetermine our priorities. What could we sacrifice? What do we need to survive? and then, what do we need to thrive? Surviving and Thriving are two different things.
To survive, you need the basics of shelter, food, clothing, sleep, and water. To thrive, you additionally need a place that is emotionally comfortable. You also need a way up and out, and the means to get there.

By the government's standards, we are in poverty. By our standards, we are rich. We have family close enough to visit regularly, good friends near and far, several months worth of extra food in the cupboards, savings in the bank, a beautiful apartment that fits our needs. And, just to keep us humble, we have a fair share of little trials- like the spiders or a funky smell in the laundry closet. Little trials that are easily solved with a few hours labor or a can of bug spray. And we have the opportunity to send my husband to school in the hours after work. It will be lonely for a while, but as President Hinckley said, “You are making a sacrifice, but it is not a sacrifice because you will get more than you give up, you will gain more than you give, and it will prove to be an investment with tremendous returns. It will prove to be a blessing instead of a sacrifice” (“Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign, Sept. 1997, 72). And that is why my husband and I plan for the future- sacrificing what we want today for the things we desire most tomorrow.