Our Cup Runneth Over

Emily was feeling down at the end of dinnertime tonight and was saying some self-pitying remarks. I held out my arms and she came and hugged me, a little weepy. I said she looked tired. She explained that she couldn’t sleep last night for a while. I suggested we have Family Home Evening on Tuesday this week so she and Brandon could go to bed early. Then she said a little more cheerfully, “No, I want to give the lesson, because it makes me feel better.” I said okay and asked what she wanted to give the lesson on. She decided to give the lesson on Thankfulness. She thought about it while the kids got their PJs on, and then said she wanted a plate and a cup, and water, and said she wanted us to say things we’re thankful for and put some water in the cup until it overflowed, and we’d say that our cup overflows with blessings. So we did this. We used a little scoop to add the water, and we each said something and added just that much water to the cup, and then slid the plate (a baby plate that would hold overflowing water!) to the next person. We did this as we ate our treat of brownies I had made (to save time). It was a brief but wonderful FHE, all planned by Emily! I am so impressed with her. At the end she explained about our cups overflowing with blessings (and sang a line from a version of "The Lord is My Shepherd" that has the words of Psalm 23). I had mentioned something before dinner to her about how Heavenly Father wants us to be thankful for what he’s given us, because she’d said she hated her life. I guess she took it to heart.

This topic has been on my mind lately. I always go into General Conference with questions in mind, so I can look for the answers in what the speakers say. One of my questions was how to handle having four kids--especially with one of them being a newborn. The answer came repeatedly—be thankful for what I have! That really does make my burdens feel lighter and help me take adversity in perspective.