Blessings

Every day we are blessed with all sorts of talents, experiences, friendships, and fun. The hardest thing about these blessings is recognizing them. Occasionally, I'll take a step back and look at all of the things that my Heavenly Father has given to me; today was one of those days. Getting a meager 3 hours of sleep, I had to get up at 6am to go running. Thinking that this would be one of the hardest runs of my life, I was hesitant to even get up. Once I got started, I was amazed with the endurance I had. I take no credit any talent I have when it comes to running; I realized today that my Heavenly Father has blessed me with the ability to run for long periods of time. As I train for a marathon I plan on doing in April, I ran 17 miles today and can't thank God enough for the gift he has given me. On top of that, I planned a bike ride down to Utah lake with some friends. In total, the bike ride took 2 hours. Usually I would look at experiences like this I just think that it was fun, but in this specific instance, I couldn't help but feel thankful for the wonderful friends I have made here at BYU. Being in such a positive environment like I have here has really helped me realize just how lucky I am to constantly be surrounded by other college students that have the same morals as me. I know that in the world today, most college students do not have the standards to refrain from habits that will only ruin there lives. Both the gifts I have been blessed with and the friends I have made are true examples of the love my Father has for me. Finally, tomorrow I will have the opportunity to receive my Patriarchal Blessing. I have been waiting for this day for quite a while now and now that it's here, I have really begun to understand its importance. This, along with everything else I have been given, is proof my Heavenly Father loves me.