Come What May

Remember going to EFY and having your little group make a chant or flag or whatever it was to unify your group? I remember our group’s motto was “stretched out still” and I still think about how God’s hand is stretched out to us no matter what we’ve done, said, where we’ve been–His hand is always there, ready for the taking.

But this is about someone else’s chant. A woman in my ward shared that when she was a counselor at EFY her group's chant was “Hearts of gratitude, grateful attitude, come what may!” She explained that whenever her group was walking to and from classes or meals one member of the group would start the chant, quiet and slow, and by the end the whole group was belting it out, fast and loud!

At the time she said she ate it up- loved every second and fully believed the chant. But soon enough her “come what may” moments came. You know the moments, the births, deaths, marriages, divorces, surprises and tragedies. The moments that make you want to scream “This is TOO HARD!” or “Why me!”.

Those were the moments that she remembered the chant, “Hearts of gratitude, grateful attitude, Come What May.”

She referenced Elder Uchtdorf’s talk, Grateful in any circumstances from April 2014. He gives a suggestion for being grateful even when lifes’ challenges are at their darkest. “Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be.”

If I had a grateful disposition I feel like my entire life would be turned upside down. How could I be angry, depressed, mean, or cranky when my first thoughts were to be thankful? To see the beauty, grace, joy and love surrounding me? Yes, life is hard, and has plenty of moments when I’d rather throw in the towel…or rather chuck it as hard as humanly possible….but what good does that do me?

So I’m going to be thankful IN my circumstances, thankful in this time of my life, thankful because this is where God wants me to be and this challenge, joy, trial, heartbreak, moment, is how God is teaching me to be more like Him.

I want to choose to have a heart full of gratitude, a grateful attitude,

Come

What

May.