How do I remember the Lord?

            How do I remember the Lord?  As I have pondered that question I have had the thought come multiple times that a way that I remember the Lord is by being grateful.  I was given a blessing a couple months ago where it told me to remember to be grateful for what the Lord had given me in my life at that time, and to not only be grateful in my words but in my actions as well.  I received that blessing after having my third miscarriage last year and I felt that God had forgotten me, so why should I remember Him.  I felt mad more than grateful, but as I have been thinking of what the Lord has been trying to help me remember through these experiences I know that He is trying to help me be grateful for my children I have.  I am able to show through my words and actions that I’m grateful for them by loving them and taking care of them.  I am able to press forward with faith and trust in the Lord’s timing. I have been able to be more grateful in my prayers so that I remember the Lord and He knows that I am aware of all that He has given me.   There are many things I have been able to do to express my gratitude for what I have even when the circumstances have been hard.

            As I read this week from Helaman, in the Book of Mormon, this question kept coming up because of how the people would be blessed so much by the Lord and then within a few short years they were extremely wicked because they had forgotten the Lord.  I know I didn’t want to be in that situation so I was grateful for these verses that helped me to know what I needed to do and not do.  In Helaman 12: 1-6, the Lord shows the pattern of what leads the people to forget Him and not remember Him.  In the Lord’s goodness He blesses and prospers those who trust Him and He does all things for the welfare and happiness of those people.  When the people are prospering is when they harden their hearts, they forget the Lord, they focus on the vain things of the world, they are quick to do iniquity and slow to do good.  The people are prideful, they are slow to remember the Lord and listen to His counsel and walk in a righteous path.  They act as though His counsel isn’t important and don’t want Him to be their guide.  The only way they remember the Lord is when He chastens them with afflictions.  

            As I share these thoughts I know that I don’t like going through afflictions, but the Lord only chastens me because He wants me to remember Him.  I know it’s also because I have been too prideful to listen to the counsel that He has been giving me to avoid some of the afflictions that will happen in my life.  He wants me to remember to be grateful for all that He has blessed me with for my welfare and happiness.  He wants each of us to be grateful for what He has given us.  I have felt that I need to daily write the blessings that He has given me to show Him how grateful I am for His hand in my life each day and to act on the counsel that He gives me.  I know these are ways that I can remember Him, and make sure that He is a top priority in my life. I feel that when He is a top priority in my life it makes everything in my life go more smoothly because I am aware of Him not only when things are good, but also when life’s challenges come.  

            So, this week ask yourself how am I remembering the Lord?  Is it only when things are good or when things are bad or both?  When we remember the Lord I know He blesses our lives even more, which is amazing to me because He wants us to remember Him so He can bless us even more than He already does.  It shows me how much He loves each of us and cares about our welfare and happiness and what He asks in return is that we remember Him.