Progressing Through Life

A couple of weeks ago I ran across this quote and it's stuck in my mind ever since.

"Be careful not to compare yourself with others. You ought to be glad you are here. Quit wishing you were somewhere else. Quit wishing you were someone else. When you compare yourself with others you can be led astray. Compare yourself with what you used to be and you will see progress." -Boyd K. Packer

I've thought to myself many times that I wish I could be in someone else's shoes (of course I don't ever think about any of the trials they have to go through,) but really just to have this little "picture perfect" family. One where all your kids are happy and healthy and safe in my arms. But the more I think about it , the more I am truly grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows us so well, and teaches us more about life, even though many of the lessons are tough. I've thought a lot in the last couple of weeks about what our lives might be like if we had Graham here as a happy, healthy baby. I know that we wouldn't be where we are now. We wouldn't have the understanding of the Gospel that we have now. We wouldn't have the relationship that we have with our Heavenly Father. We wouldn't have the relationship with each other that we have now. And as ironic as it seems, I'm thankful for my trials. I wish I could have Graham here, but I know that he's in a better place, and that we will be together again someday. I'm grateful for these learning experiences that help me to progress through life. Those experiences that build my faith and make my testimony stronger. The experiences that make me appreciate everything a little bit more each day. And as I look back at myself, I can see the growth, lots of growth in the last year.