Gratitude

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"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

- Marcel Proust

November. What a special month! I am grateful for the opportunity this month provides me to be able to look at my many blessings and realize what an amazing gift life is. During this month of thanksgiving, I have been contemplating on the things which bring me the most joy in my life. I am extremely grateful for my parents, my siblings and their children, and for extended relatives and friends. I am grateful for shelter, clothing, food, and my job. I am grateful for my beliefs, and for my Savior. These are blessings I have been grateful to count in past years. This year however, I get to add something new to my grateful list. That new item is... Justin.

I don't know if I believe in the whole concept of "soulmates", but I do believe that I was meant to be with Justin. The timing on our relationship, and our past experiences, were just too perfect to be coincidence. Throughout the years in my life, I felt as if someone were out there, in the world, waiting for me. I grew, gained some hard life experinces, and after some major heartache and  bumps in the road, I found Justin. I had a very strong feeling about him, and knew he was the person I had been waiting for.  I am so grateful for him. He truly is the man of my dreams and my best friend. He is wonderful, and I know if I searched the world over, I would never find anyone like him. He is a real man. And no, I don't mean this in the sense that he is of the male gender and over the age of eighteen. I mean that he treats me with respect, he is honorable and kind, and stands up for what is right. I am so blessed to share my life with him.

To sum it up, this November I am grateful for love. I am grateful for love in all forms, but especially love in marriage. There is nothing to compare to it, and nothing quite as wonderful as finding the one you feel you are supposed to be with. Sometimes I am filled with so much happiness and love that I want to be like Buddy the Elf and shout at the top of my lungs: "I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!" Lucky me!