Women are hungry for things of the Spirit, for truths that counter the slide of virtues all around them. Visiting teaching is a measure of the heart, an unselfish work, a sacred trust that blesses both giver and receiver.

Gratitude is a SpiritEUR'filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God's love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence.

Every time we watch over one another, godlike qualities of love, patience, kindness, generosity, and spiritual commitment fill the souls of those we visit and enlarge our souls as well.

When was the last fast time you thanked the Lord for a trial or tribulation? Adversity compels us to go to our knees; does gratitude for adversity do that as well?

Our assignment is not only to make visits but to consistently carry the Spirit into homes, to bless families with the pure love of Christ, to inspire, encourage, lift, and fortify. Every home is in need of additional support. Visiting teachers bring that blessed reinforcement. It is a sacred trust we have been given. We can overcome the obstacles.

Gratitude requires awareness and effort, not only to feel it but to express it. Frequently we are oblivious to the Lord's hand. We murmur, complain, resist, criticize; so often we are not grateful.

If we are in tune with the Spirit, if we are seeking the Lord and His guidance, if our direction is to return to our Father in Heaven, the sweet moments will come. And we will treasure them, for we have become instruments in the hands of God