"Count Your Blessings...Angels Will Attend"

   The words to that hymn have new meaning to me.  The week between Christmas and New Years is usually a week I look forward to every year.  A time to relax, to enjoy the afterglow of Christmas and to spend time with family.  That week here in the mission field has been a real challenge.  We returned from our P day trip on Wednesday only to find there was little work to be done, everyone we contacted was busy with family and that we had a lot of time on our hands.  I had what can only be described as a 'melt down' on Friday, New Years Day.  It began the minute I woke up.  I felt like I had a dark cloud over my head.  My knee and hip were hurting from all the walking we had done on our little trip.  I was feeling sorry for myself, even the elders were busy when we called to ask if they wanted to come for dinner!  I let myself turn inward and that led to overwhelming feelings of loneliness and homesickness, the worst I have experienced since arriving here.  Except for small moments when I have been thinking about home I have NOT struggled at all with sadness or depression.  But Thursday was different...I was crying at the drop of a hat and could literally 'feel' the gloom surrounding me.  That day, as if an answer from my Father in Heaven, a daughter called me out of the blue to chat...not knowing how much I needed someone to talk to that day.  I believe she was prompted and that she listened.   The call was so welcome but I continued to feel overwhelmed with that dark feeling.  It frightened me a little and I knew I had to shake it.  That night as I knelt in prayer, I was prepared to plead my case to my Father in Heaven...to wallow in self pity, and ask for His help.  But, before I could even begin, I was flooded with thoughts and 'visions' of all the blessings in my life...all the things I had to be thankful for...everything I had been given up to this point in my life that made my life so wonderful and joyful.   Those thoughts kept me from asking for ANYTHING...all I could do was humbly THANK Him for all that I had been given. The feelings of self pity, sadness and despair left me!  At that moment, I felt loved, I was filled with a feeling of peace and I knew that everything would be OK, and that I could do what I was called here to do.  I slept well that night and awoke the next morning feeling like my old self again.  Counting your blessings really does have the power to change your outlook on life!