Month of Gratitude - November 4

I gave the lesson today in Relief Society.  I found a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf entitled "Your Happily Ever After" that spoke to me of the love of a Heavenly Father and that life is a time of hope.  You can read it by clicking here.

As I prepared to share this message with the other Sisters in my congregation, I could not help but think of how blessed I am to have a mother who read to me.  Every day at naptime, she would lay down on the bed with us and read to us from books or from the Children's Friend magazine.  Often, she would read to us until she fell asleep.  We would still stay on the bed and look through the pile of books and the magazine, enjoying the beautiful illustrations.

I know that it was this dedication to reading to us that has instilled in me my love for reading. 

Now whenever we go to visit or they come to visit us, she takes the time to read books to my girls just as she did with my boys when they were little.  She is much better at this than I ever was, but between the two of us, my children have gained the same love of reading.  This is a gift that will bless their lives forever, just as it has blessed mine.

The Reading Mother
by Strickland Gillilan

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea.
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth;
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.
I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.
I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness lent with his final breath.
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-
Stories that stir with an upward touch.
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a Mother who read to me.