Thanksgiving


My life is littered with blessings. I enjoy a dear partner, a remarkable family, a great heritage, work that I love, and unlimited opportunities to learn. Yet one blessing stands supreme: the great plan of growth and happiness designed by our perfect Father and energized by His beloved Son. That great plan and the heavenly goodness behind it make everything else possible. Everything.

I try to make every Sunday when I partake of the sacrament into a time of thanksgiving. I come to the sacrament time with an inventory of blessings from the previous week. I come wanting to thank Him for His persistent redemptiveness. I come filled with gratitude for His willingness to forgive me, teach me, and carry me in covenant. I thank Him for lending me breath, light, hope, joy, and purpose.

What a blessing that we prepare for sacred covenants with music! Often the sacrament hymns flood my heart with joy. I follow the words of the prayers and thank Heaven for the goodness that sustains us. I stand amazed at His love and graciousness. I am renewed by Him.

In my view, Thanksgiving should happen every week as we approach the Lord to make covenants.

Author: H. Wallace Goddard

Wally Goddard is a retired professor of Family Life having served in Arkansas and Alabama. He developed programs on personal well-being, marriage, and parenting. He is well known for his many creative family programs, including The Marriage Garden, The Parenting Journey, and Blueprint for Happiness. Wally has authored or co-authored several books including Between Parent and Child, The Soft-Spoken Parent, and Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage. He has been recognized by his colleagues with several awards including the Outstanding Family Life Educator Award. Wally and his wife, Nancy, have three adult children, fourteen grandchildren, and have cared for many foster children over the years. Wally describes Nancy as the finest human being he has ever known.

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