President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk in 2014 about gratitude called Grateful in Any Circumstances. The talk is loaded with perspective and teaching about gratitude, and how we can have it in any circumstance. Please go listen to this talk.

I am going to share only one small insight from this talk, and I feel almost disrespectful in sharing only this small portion. There is so much more in the talk. Today I will focus on this quote:

“We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?

“Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges.

“This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind.”

I want to share a story of gratitude that really impressed me. Many years ago, when I was an adjunct faculty at Utah Valley University, I had a spontaneous interaction with our Dean, Newell Dayley. Newell is one of the most kind-hearted individuals I know, and to me he is a contradiction. On one hand he is soft-spoken, thoughtful, kind, receptive, and friendly. On the other hand, I don’t know if I have ever met a person so influential and powerful. He singlehandedly changed the UVU School of the Arts while he was there.

As I said, one day I ran into Newell and we started to chat at we walked somewhere together. At some point, I remember asking him for a little help with some situation. I don’t even remember the details of the situation, but at the end of our talk together, he looked me dead in the eye, smiled, and kindly said, “Thank you for this opportunity.”

I was blown away. Here I thought I was adding to his plate. I was a lowly adjunct faculty member, and he was the Dean of the School of the Arts. He had so many things to do, yet he was grateful I had asked for some help on probably something that was not very significant at the time.

Well, this taught me something about gratitude. Newell Dayley was literally grateful I handed him one more problem or task to deal with. To this day I am amazed at him, and I am grateful for his example of gratitude. Thanks Newell.