Day 19 -30 days of thanks

I am thankful for Jesus Christ. Growing up I knew of him and I felt somewhat of a love for him mainly because of the basics that I was taught about him. But He didn't become a real influence in my life until I needed Him. Or at least until I realized that I needed Him. And even since the first time I realized that I needed him, I still till this day, from time to time lose sight of his power in my life. That's a shame. Unfortunately it happens to most of us because of the distractions of the world. I feel so blessed to know the things I know. I am so thankful for my testimony in the gospel. I am incredibly thankful that no matter how many times we don't put him first, make mistakes, disappoint him, let ourselves down, or get complacent in our spiritual growth, HE IS STILL THERE. He is there so patiently waiting to take our hand and forgive us and give us strength. Jesus Christ is a topic that is so broad. I could go in a million directions to express my gratitude for him. HOPE.REPENTANCE.MERCY. to name just a few. But tonight I wanted to express my thanks for his perfect love. In this life we are surrounded by imperfect people who do not know how to love perfectly. We judge each other so easily without ever knowing all the facts. We waste perfectly good friendships/relationships because we judge, envy, compare, and get selfish. I do this, you do this, we all do this. That is because we are imperfect. But I'm so thankful that we have Christ's example of Charity. Charity is the exact opposite of what I just listed. We have in Christ a friend who will never judge us unfairly or without mercy. He knows our heart, our intentions, our strengths/weaknesses, and judges us accordingly...still always loving us. We will not always be accepted or liked by everyone. Others will judge us and hurt us. But in Christ, we have a true friend. I love the thought of that. It's so comforting to know that he pleads with Heavenly Father on our behalf because he understands us and loves us with perfect love. He is our only true judge. I'm thankful that we can look to him as our example and try our best to do the same to others. It's so not easy, especially if another person has wronged you in some way or if our pride gets in the way. But I am thankful that he shows us how, and even when we fail to have charity, he still grants it unto us. I know that he chose to come to earth and have a body and experience pain and heartache because he wanted to relate to us and understand us. He didn't have to. He suffered in Gethsemane and atoned for us so that he could be a true judge and friend. I am thankful that with all of my imperfections and sins he still love me. I love him and I am so grateful for his unconditional and perfect love.