Wrinkles

Do you wake every morning thinking "It is so great to be alive" and begin counting your blessings even before you get out of bed? No? Well I can't say that I remember to do that every day either, but then I think "why not?"

Does this sound sort of idealistic? Unrealistic?

Well, we all face challenges. Perhaps it's harder to see the blessings and easier to focus on obstacles when we are confronted with problems. But it is then that we need the strength that comes from emphasizing the power of good in our lives. Let me tell you at least one way I know that to be true.

August is a special month. Summer is wrapping up and tinges of Fall are appearing. There is the excitement of a new year of school starting and the opportunity that new friends, classes, and learning affords. But it also happens to be one week in the year when we have more consecutive birthday's than any other. Leslie, Grandpa, Levi, and Robyn--perhaps more--but at least those are the ones I remember growing up.

Celebrating their birthdays is great fun, but more notable to me is the way each one of these persons has faced obstacles with courage and determination. When I refect on their birthdays, I can't help but remember the hardships that they have faithfully borne in their lives, and to me the recollection of their examples is inspirational.

Which I remember in particular during that special week in August.

Without belaboring the point, let me use an analogy. Of course, I remember many things about Grandpa. We all do. But a favorite memory of mine is the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. Why on earth would I cherish that? Nobody likes wrinkles, right? Well for me, they are the epidemy of Grandpa--always smiling, deeply concerned and loving, measures of decades of effort. His life was a labor of love put into family, home, service, and the Savior. It didn't come easy. In fact, his life was littered with trials. Holding his rough, callused hands taught me a great deal about love, appreciation, and service. That good can come from hardship was apparent to me then and an important life lesson.