LET US ALL BE GRATEFUL!!

          What struck me the most this week was President Monson’s talk on having An Attitude of Gratitude and how that relates to business. While he never really tied the two ideas together in his talk, I was taught by the Spirit that having a grateful heart in ALL things is imperative, if you want to be successful in life. President Monson expressed gratitude for many different people in his life and I want to take this opportunity to show my gratitude for some very key people in my life.

          First, following President Monson’s lead, my mother. My dear, sweet, loving, kind, supportive mom, Evelyn Jane Hyde Sessions is one of the very few heroes I have in life. My mom put up with SO much from all of us. My mom supported my father through his time in the U.S. Navy, through undergraduate and law school, as well as helped him open his own law practice. She served as wife, mother, partner, legal secretary, and key supporter of all things in their lives. I truly do not think my father would have found the success he did, were it not for my mom and her loving support.

          When she was but 33 years old, my mom buried her 10-year-old daughter, my sister Sandy. Sandy was killed in a tragic accident. This devastating blow could have destroyed my mom, and to be honest, it almost did. However, she still had an 8-year-old son to raise and a husband to support, so she stayed strong. About 3 years later, she was willing to give her heart away again and they adopted me. I never once, in all of my 49 years, have felt anything other than I was her daughter. I’ve never felt like I didn’t belong to her because she didn’t give birth to me. My mom mastered the ability to love unconditionally and trust me when I say I gave her MANY reasons to stop loving me. She never quit. She never gave up on me. My mom always loved and believed in me. To this day, my mom is still my best friend, followed closely by my daughter.

          Secondly, I would like to give my gratitude to my father, Vernon Kirk Sessions. While my dad and I often do not see eye to eye on things, I think that is because we are a lot alike. We are both bull-headed and stubborn…Byron tough! My dad came from Pioneer stock. His 3^rd great grandma and her family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its early stages and were driven out of home after home because of persecution. They never gave up. They never quit. They always moved forward with steadfastness in Christ. In September 1847, they settled in the Salt Lake City, Utah area, establishing Sessions Settlement, which in turn became Bountiful, Utah. Eventually my dad’s great grandpa, Byron Sessions, was sent to settle the Big Horn Basin in Wyoming and the town of Byron, Wyoming was established. That is where my dad grew up. The son of hard working parents, Kirk and Pearl Lynn Sessions, my dad worked and played hard. He joined the Navy and eventually, became a practicing lawyer in Colorado. He chose law because he wanted his children to be proud of what their dad did for a living. We most certainly are.

          Thirdly, I want to share my thanks for my amazing missionary daughter, Aerika Joleen Jepperson. She has been such a gift and blessing from Heaven. Words cannot express how grateful I am for her. She has challenged me from the get go with her intelligence, reasoning abilities, and strong spirit! This young woman has taught me more about God, His Gospel, and eternal salvation than just about anyone. Aerika is the reason I’m in college. She challenged me to progress and grow. She wanted me to become “better” so we would have “better” things to talk about when she came home. Where most people who challenge me to do things meet a brick wall, Aerika finds a marshmallow that she can bend and stretch to whatever shape she wants. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her.

          Teachers…I would like to give a shout out to two of my favorite teachers in high school. Sam Weintraub was my Psychology teacher and Perry Weissman was my English teacher. I learned more from these two men than from all the other teachers in high school combined. I am eternally grateful to them both.

          My take away from this week is simply this: show gratitude in all that you do and you will be blessed. It is my goal to make certain my employees (when we get our business up and running) KNOW how grateful I am for them and each of their special accomplishments. I need them to understand how important they are and I will do all that I can to ensure they know.

          Finally, I would like to say how grateful I am to know my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. Without them, I am nothing; I can’t become anything; I would have nothing. I testify here and now that Jesus is the Christ. He atoned for my sins and for the sins of the entire world, in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He died for us all upon the cross at Calvary, upon Golgotha’s Hill. He rose after the third day bringing about the hope of resurrection for us all. I am eternally grateful for Him, for His love for me, and for His life and death. I testify that He leads and guides The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through His modern day prophet, Thomas Spencer Monson. I know that this is His church upon the earth today and I am thankful to have been raised in a home where the Gospel of Jesus Christ resided. I leave this testimony in His holy and sacred name, even that of Jesus Christ, Amen.