#GiveThanks Blog #1: Gratitude for Life and Many Blessings
By Kevin V. Hunt
Friday, November 20th started as any other day for me. It began as I always do – with a shower, dressing, praying with my wife and heading off to work. For many years, and for just a few more days, I am a school bus driver. (Retirement, here I come … Woot, Woot!) I begin my workday doing a safety inspection on my bus to make sure that it is completely safe for me to transport the many young people in my charge. Then once that is done, I am off in my bus for the day.
That is the way it happened today. And then I went for a walk near my first student pick-up location. My bus morning was “pretty normal” as I often write. And today, I noted that the day began as a “Great Day for UP!” (Dr. Seuss). I sent a photo of the fabulous sunrise to my children and posterity via the site where we all quietly communicate with just our family members.
Following my morning run on the bus, I went home for just a couple of hours. I was able to provide some service to a brother-in-law. (More on that later …) I then served my daughter-in-law, whose husband, my son, is off serving in basic training for the US Army Reserves (as she has the herculean job of guiding of and providing alone for their seven children in his absence.) I make sure that she has food for the children each day.
I have been anticipating for several days what was to come next. This was a message from the man whom I believe is a modern and current Prophet of God. (I hope that anyone who knows me knows that I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!)
President Russel M. Nelson had made a previous announcement that on this date (November 20th at 11:00 AM) he would present a “Message of Hope and Healing” to the world. My anticipation was high … what would he say to us? (Knowing that we presently live in a rather crazy world and realizing that we can use all the help that we can get!)
I got home from my service errand just before the message was to be broadcast via social media. I got onto the specified website with just seconds to spare. President Nelson noted that he is a “man of science” as well as a man of God. He talked of how prior to his ministry, he was a renowned heart surgeon and how he was the inventor of the mechanics which made open heart surgery possible. He shared his own gratitude for things for which he is most grateful. (Hear the talk here at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlcILxGmVrI&feature=youtu.be )
He then said that he had one solution to the many problems of the world – no matter what they might be. I perked up. “Just one solution for all? Interesting …” I wondered what it might be. He then introduced the “Healing Power of Gratitude!” He expressed a list of things that we should each be grateful for. And he prayed for us – all of us in the world. He issued a challenge to everyone listening to take the next seven days to express gratitude on various forms of “social media”.
In my family circle, each family member knows well, how inept I am with technology. My children and their children are all masters at it. But not me! It is a standing joke how I can get into a computer and open up so many websites and documents that I can instantly clog my who computer system (again and again). They are all good at this social media business. Some of them live for it and are good at posting about anything and everything. But in spite of their skill, this has not been my thing. I do not often get onto the social media thing but do occasionally (usually just for family stuff and I try to find a way to “like” some picture or comment – just to let them know that I like their photos and what they are doing.) But that is about it!
As I thought of the challenge by President Nelson, I wondered how I might best express my gratitude over the next seven days. I decided that my personal blogsite kevinthescout@wordpress.com might be my best option. I do enjoy writing and have done a few blog articles over the past few years and it has been fun to post articles on this site. “I can do that,” I thought. And having made that decision, I asked silently, “What can I write about?” And then the inspiration flowed. It was then about time to return for my afternoon bus run, but I quickly wrote the ideas as they came – with a commitment to write of them over the next week. I am rather busy, and it will be a big challenge, but here is the list that came (but it turned out to be eight items instead of seven):
- Gratitude for my Life and Many Blessings
- Gratitude for fabulous Sunrises and Sunsets
- Gratitude for my ancestors and family heritage
- Gratitude for Talents and Abilities the Lord has Given Me
- Gratitude for Opportunities for Service
- Gratitude for my Current Family
- Gratitude for The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
- Gratitude for my Journal Writing Commitment
So, there you have it! I invite you to tune in for at least eight days as I commit to publishing a blog on each of these subjects. I hope that you will join me!
I noted already that I drive a school bus. I did so again after hearing thee message from President Nelson. As I got to the high school to pick-up my first students, I began to greet students as they boarded my bus. I have become friends with Brenden. He was one of the first on the bus. I greeted him in my usual way: “Greetings … Brenden, how are you?” Most teenagers do not have much to say but today Brenden took an interest in me. He said, “How was your day?” Now I could have taken the easy way out and just said, “It was great …” Actually, it started out that way … but Brenden paused up front by me, acting as if he was interested in hearing more details. He surprised me by saying, “What made it great?”
I then told him about the message and challenge (invitation) I had just heard from the prophet of our church. I told him that his message had been on the subject of “Gratitude”. He looked a bit puzzled. He said, “I am not familiar with that term.” I then explained that gratitude is being thankful for blessings received and recognizing the source of them. I then told him of my plan to create and post blogs on seven subjects of gratitude over the next week and invited him to check out my blogsite (with parent permission). I gave him one of my personal cards with my blogsite shown on it. Will he check it out? I don’t know … that is up to him.
Back to my gratitude of my life and blessings …
I have developed a habit of walking each morning and try to find specific and regular times in my day that I can do this. I presently have the opportunity to walk for about 20 minutes before my first scheduled student pick-up. Right now, that walk often includes the opportunity to catch the first rays of the sun as it comes over the mountains to the east. And I am very blessed to make this walk at a beautiful little pond in the middle of a planned subdivision. And the reflection of the sun on the lake is magnificent and breath taking. (I will write more on that later!)
My walk has become a special time for me to “walk with God” and a time to reflect upon His many blessings He has bestowed upon me and my family. As the walk begins, I begin my prayer and begin to thank my Heavenly Father for the beautiful world around me. And then my next subject often becomes an expression of thanks for my opportunity to live and move and to have my being here on this beautiful earth. I thank God for His divine plan which brought me – and all of us – here to the earth. I rejoice in His beautiful world evident around me and give thanks for His Son, Jesus Christ, by whom He also created the earth. And I rejoice and give my gratitude that I know that Jesus came to the Earth as the Son of God to become our Savior and Redeemer through His perfect example, His life, His mission, His Atonement, death and glorious resurrection.
I then express gratitude for my own life and the opportunity to be here in the world. I rejoice in and give thanks for my parents who brought me here. They met under some unique circumstances. A mutual friend introduced them, and their first date was a blind date on a Friday the 13th. Sounds a bit ominous, huh? But wait! It gets worse – or better! I came along on Halloween night. Yes, that’s right! The story goes that Mom and Dad were at a church Halloween party on a Saturday evening the night before Halloween. And while there, it soon became evident, that I was about to make my appearance.
They rushed to the hospital and I made my appearance a few hours later – and yes, it was on Halloween! I was a little guy – just 9 pounds and 4 ounces. (We have had several of our own children who have surpassed that size. My poor wife …)
Being born on Halloween has always been interesting. When I was young, it was a big party – with the whole world celebrating the birthday with me. After we got married, my wife got frustrated as we tried to celebrate the birthday in between all of the rauchious trick-or-treaters clamoring at our door. And in later years, we have skipped the doorstep excitement and my wife, and I just go out to dinner. And for many years, she and the children have staged a traditional “spooky dinner” (making various Halloween themed foods – like “ratloaf”) for me (on a night other than Halloween).
One Halloween memory is kind of funny as I look back at it. This was when I was age 8 and preparing to get baptized into the Church. Prior to getting baptized, one needs to have an interview with the local ward Bishop. Bishop Darwin Gunnell and I tried to figure out a time to get together. He said, “Are you coming trick-or-treating to my house?” I said that his house was a part of our plan. So, he said that we could talk when I got to his house. And so, it was that I had my baptism interview in my clown costume. (I realized later that Baptism was not a clowning matter.)
We had a good life and I have always been grateful for it. I made my debut in Ft. Collins, Colorado where my father was a salesman of deluxe pots and pans. He was soon promoted to a position in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I do not remember anything about the place, but I know that wind, snow and icy weather are pretty much the norm there. (I have met some people from Wyoming, so I guess survival is possible!) It was in Cheyenne that my next brother, Russel Dean, was born.
Dean was rather sickly at the beginning and soon developed pneumonia. He was in the hospital for quite a while. Finally, the doctor talked to my folks and gave them the bad news. “He will never survive Wyoming winters.” He advised the folks to move somewhere to a warmer climate. My dad had known some really great folks – Clyde and Lucille Farr – as they served together in Texas (in the Air Force during the Korean War). They lived in Mesa, Arizona. They encouraged us to come “to the Valley of the Sun”. The decision was made. Dad, Mom and I – and literally in the moving van – picked Dean up at the hospital and we moved to Mesa, Arizona. (115-degree summer weather … but it’s a DRY HEAT!) That move proved a great blessing in my life and I am forever grateful that I grew up in this town with strong “Mormon” roots. A really great place! We lived initially with the Farrs on their farm. They were a great blessing to our family – for which we have always been grateful. (And another blessing from the Farrs would not be realized until some 50 years later – when my son married their granddaughter! Wow! She has been a wonderful blessing to all of us!)
We moved around a bit for a few more years but soon realized that Mesa is where we needed to be. The family ultimately grew to seven children – five brothers and two sisters. Another great blessing. We did not always get along. Some of us had differences with some of the others … but somehow we all grew up.
Dad was a mailman. He had explored other jobs and had experienced times of no job. Bu, he finally got hired on with the US Postal Service. I do not know how he did It, but he somehow survived 30 years of delivering mail in 115-degree Arizona summer weather – while riding and delivering the mail from a big heavy bicycle. I figured one time (half- way into his 30 years) that he had then pedaled 1.5 million miles. And he hated almost every minute of it. But he did it. He stuck with it in order to support our family. And I am grateful that he did.
I have not heard of many mailmen who became millionaires, and we were no exception. We never had any money, but we had “sufficient for our needs”. Dad appreciated his home and other nice ”things,” and always worked to keep them looking clean and nice.
We probably survived on Mom’s faith. She was a stay at home mom. She was always there for us. And she volunteered for everything that we were a part of and was always there to support us. She was amazing and wonderful. (In her words, I say that she was “great and grand” … she calls me – even now, her “great grandson”. If we ever had a problem, it was mom’s faith and prayers that pulled us through.
Two special blessings from Mom: She taught us that no matter how many children came to the family, the Lord always increased her/and their capacity to take care of and to provide for them. She also let us have fun and enjoy life. One time, Dad, and most of us kids were out deer hunting somewhere out in mountains. A neighbor lady came over every few minutes with a bleak weather report and how this and this might happen to us. Finally, Mom said, “If they didn’t think that something like might happen to them, they would not have gone at all.”
I grew up learning how to work. I got a paper route when I was just age eleven or so and from that point on, I earned money to pay for most of my own expenses. I was taught to save for my mission. I was taught from a young age that I needed to go on a mission. Mom recalls that once I asked if Pogo, my Teddy bear, could go with me.
When I was sixteen I got hired by a man on my paper route – as a grocery pack-out boy in his grocery store. Later, my Bishop asked me to come to work for him in his flower shop. I started with delivery and moved (often by necessity) into floral design. (And a few years later, his son married my sister!)
Mom taught us all to put God and Church in our lives. His work was always first on her “to do list”. (And a long Saturday work-list further taught us the skill of hard work.) We belonged to the Mesa 10th Ward and every person there was a great blessing in our lives. We had the best Scouting and youth leaders. And we loved the roadshows and the dance festivals.
I say that it was when I was twelve that I developed most of my life-long hobbies and interests. I became a Boy Scout. That was one of the grandest blessings that ever came to me. From that time forth, and for almost 60 years, I have been involved with the Boy Scouts of America. My four brothers and I all became Eagle Scouts. I became a Scouting leader at a young age – even though by “the rules”, I should have been older to so serve. I loved everything about Scouting, and it has blessed my life forever. I also took up camping, indoor and outdoor cooking, hiking, woodworking and more.
At twelve or before, I became interested in serious reading. I got hooked on biographies of great people. I loved the “Little Britches” series by author Ralph Moody (and have since read them a couple of times to my children).
I was blessed again at age 12, to take a Sunday school course on the subject of genealogy and family research. I spent much of my teen years typing hundreds of pedigree and family group records researched by my Grandma, Augusta Wilcox Hunt. And now, genealogy has been another life-time interest and dedication. I have been greatly blessed through this activity – and I have been able to help dozens of other people with their research.
As a teenager, my brother, Dean, and I were able to serve as “teen missionary guides” at the Mesa Arizona LDS Temple visitor’s Center. What a great blessing that became!
I was blessed to go on a mission for the church for two years. I was called initially to the Alabama-Florida Mission (later called the Florida-Tallahassee Mission at the end of my mission). And for the last six months, I was privileged to serve at the historic Mormon community of Nauvoo, Illinois as a tour guide. This mission was a great blessing in my life – and I think for those whom I taught of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have maintained association with some folks whom I helped into the Church.
Coming home, I was able to finish course work at the Mesa Community College. I may not have been able to get into Brigham Young University, but it worked out so that I could. I enrolled for summer classes and was then able to stay through to graduation.
It was at BYU that I met my future wife. We had all of eight dates over a two years and I proposed by mail after not seeing her for four months. It took a whole month to get engaged – but we were married in the Salt Lake City Temple shortly after the engagement process. She has been and is the perfect wife and mate for me and for our children. And I have been forever grateful for the blessing of Lou in my life. I am grateful for her dedicated service and support of me through now 40 plus years. And from our union, have come nine children and 38 grandchildren. Wow! And what a blessing they all are!
And like my growing up years, we have lived by faith. There have been some rough spots (mostly financial) but most of our life has been wonderful beyond belief. We have not had the job stability of my father but have had many job changes. Paying a full tithe and a generous fast offering have been keys to our financial survival. Faith has given us the blessings that we have needed and desired. God has provided for us and our every need. We have always had “sufficient for our needs” and have been greatly blessed. And for these many blessings over long time, I express my gratitude to my God. It has been a good life!
Over the years, we have sent seven children on missions. The three sons and one daughter have 4-year college degrees. Two other daughters have two-year degrees (and some are working for higher degrees now through the BYU Pathways program). One of the greatest moments of our life was the Temple marriage of our youngest child – our daughter a couple of years ago. Joining us there in the Temple that day were all of our nine children and all of their spouses. I have such gratitude for this great blessing!
Yes, it truly has been a great life. We have had much happiness and joy. So, I express gratitude and thanks for my life itself and all of the good things that have come with it. Thanks be to God – who has provided “all these things” to us.
#givethanks
KevintheScout 