FAMILY GENERATIONS

Today in sacrament meeting, the speaker was really awesome. He had great things to say about temples and family legacies throughout the generations. The thing that I thought was wonderful is he mentioned something about how we can learn from our ancestors. I just thought of my childhood and how much of an influence my Grandma and Grandpa Turner were to me. Honestly, I don't know where I would be without them. My Grandma always sent me letters and birthday cards and she would always write that I am a daughter of God and He loves me. She wrote I needed to be a good example for my family and I needed to go to church and read my scriptures. I always thought it was preachy, but I found all the letters after both of them had passed away, and I realized that it really affected my life. I knew I was loved, not only by Heavenly Father, but also by them. All of that "preaching" finally sunk in and even though I didn't realize it at the time, it gave me direction in my life. I don't think I would have known as strongly as I do that I am a daughter of God and he loves me if my Grandma didn't tell me that all the time. And how would she have known that I needed to hear that if she didn't learn it from someone else? I will be forever grateful for what my grandparents did for me when I was younger. I wish I would have realized it more fully when they were still alive so I could personally tell them thank you. I'm sure they know. I just wish I could tell them. What a great legacy to live up to. They were the strong happy family that I didn't have growing up. Even though they weren't there every day, I could feel their love for me and my brothers and sisters. I miss them terribly, but I am so thankful for their love and support they gave me while they were here. I can only hope to be the same kind of person they were. But I have their example to learn from.