The Source of our Blessings (6/15/2009)

"Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you; Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.

"Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.

"Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you." (Alma 34:17-27)

Last night, my three year old started to ask me where things came from. Who gave us our house? Who gave us the food we were eating? Who gave us the cars? You get the idea. Each time, we answered that our Father in Heaven blesses us with those things.

She could not reconcile that with the fact that we bought the house from Mrs. Gentry, or that she was with us on Friday night when we purchased the groceries, so we explained to her that Heavenly Father blesses daddy with talents so that he can have a job that helps us pay for everything we have. I am not sure how much of that she understood, but it caused me to reflect how dependent we are on our Father in Heaven.

As Amulek stated, our Father will bless us in a wide range of things - our work, our gardens, with protection against those who would do us harm - as long as we seek His help. I hope that we can always remember that He is the source of all of our blessings, and may we be humble enough to acknowledge His hand in all things, and have faith sufficient to call upon Him for those things we and our neighbors need.