(Sunday Sentiments)... I Figured this Out

This little tidbit is about the lesson I had in church today in correlation with a conversation I recently overheard. Part of the lesson magnified how everything, literally everything, was created as a manifestation of God's power and glory. I was thinking about that as I overheard a conversation in which one person told the other that it would be hard to raise children in a different country and she wouldn't want to do it. Now maybe these two things don't mesh in your head, but they do in mine. I'll try to explain as best as possible...but I don't promise anything. Often things make sense to me that may not to most others.

The thing is, I want to raise my kids in a different country. Perhaps not for their entire life, but for a good few years of their childhood at least. I think it would be magnificent to be able to do that. Granted- it would be difficult, but raising a child in and of itself is difficult. So why not do it in a different atmosphere where the child can gain various perspectives of the world? I not only want my children to be grateful for the United States, I want them to know why they are grateful for it. I feel like so many people don't realize the incredible blessing this country is- that the simplest of conveniences are a true treasure. It isn't until you have to go without those things that you truly gain an appreciation for them. It isn't until you see how others around the world live that you realize how bountiful American life is. This is where the gospel lesson came in for me: every little thing, from toilet paper to shoes to clean water, comes from God. How easy it is to forget to be grateful for the small things. This is part of the reason I want to raise my children in a foreign country. I want them to learn to be grateful for the small things as well as experience a different worldview and realize the great blessing it is to be an American.