When I read 1 Nephi, 1:1, I am frequently drawn to the "having been born of goodly parents" part, because I really appreciate my upbringing and my parents. This time, however, I was thinking about the bigger picture that Nephi was referring to. He mentions that he was born of goodly parents as only a piece of the puzzle. Yes, he had hard times, especially as time goes on through the early part of the Book of Mormon with their travels from Jerusalem to the promised land. I'm sure even before they left Jerusalem, he had some hard times. They were trying to kill his father because of his prophesying, and if bet that didn't make it any easier for Lehi's family either. It seems to me that if Jerusalem was that wicked, and Nephi was that faithful, he would have had lots of struggles just living the commandments surrounded by wickedness.
Nephi takes a few seconds to acknowledge these afflictions and struggles, but then he turns it around, and shows two things. He recognizes that even with these struggles, he considers himself blessed. Very blessed. He prizes his knowledge of The Lord and His gospel.
So I wonder how often we think about our afflictions, and then get so caught up in them that we stop there. We get so wrapped up in how many afflictions we suffer, that we don't take the time to think about the flip side of the coin -- how blessed we truly are.
I've been given so much that I can be grateful for. Even if I take time to think of all the things I'm really grateful for I still take so much for granted. I hear about people who have health struggles. I hear about people who have sick kids, or who experience all sorts of life's challenges.
I have so much to be grateful for, and I hope that, especially when I find myself thinking of my afflictions and struggles in life, that I can turn that around like Nephi did and focus on the blessings in my life. There's nothing like recognition of and gratitude for blessings as an antidote to selfishness and pessimism.
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