Grateful

As I was sitting in church today we were singing a hymn... I don't remember what it was, but it was about gathering together and worshiping Jesus Christ.  I looked over at my squirmy kids and the scattered crayons and saw the kids whispering a bit too loudly for sacrament meeting and I just felt so incredibly grateful to be at church at that moment.  I thought of all the places we could be at that time.... and all the places most of the world would be at such a time... and felt that it is such a wonderful thing that instead we are at church singing praises to God and recommitting ourselves to following Him.  We are far from a perfect family (as noted above) but we're trying to teach our kids about something bigger and more meaningful than they could be learning anywhere else.  I thought about how if everyone in the world would do that... what a different world we'd be living in.  This church is a wonderful thing.  Then Lizzy got up and gave a talk,  her first ever in sacrament meeting, and shared about how she found strength in Jesus Christ.  She bore her testimony about His willingness to lift our burdens and lend us strength.  I thought about how I wished everyone could know about His love and His gift.  I'm feeling grateful that our kids have church leaders who are helping them to learn and grow in ways that we couldn't do alone.  The fact that a 12 year old can stand in front of a large congregation and share her thoughts about Jesus Christ is a testament that great things are happening in the church.  It really is a beautiful thing.