Happiness

Tonight I went to the temple. Before I left, I remembered it has been two weeks since I was there (I was in the Oakland temple last weekend, but it's not the same). And I realized I've missed it, and remembered how much I love it.  Being in the temple fills my heart with happiness. Sometimes I feel it bubbling over and spilling out, sometimes it is just a full-to-the-brim sort of happiness (that's how it was tonight). Invariably, it's the kind of happiness that equates to peace and contentment, long-term satisfaction, and understanding. In the temple, it is easy to remember that Heavenly Father has a plan specifically designed for me. As I sat and pondered for a few minutes before I came home again, I thought of all the reasons I have to be happy, and let the feeling of contentment settle into my soul for a few minutes. Sometimes, I am so wrapped up in the latest this or that, so focused on what I need or want or do not have, that I forget to be content with the abundance with which I am surrounded. Then I talk to a sibling or I go to the temple (or tonight, I do both) and I remember how blessed I am and how much I have to be grateful for. And it leaves me feeling satisfied. Content. Happy. Not in the "I bought a cinnamon-scented thingy and I'm enjoying it thoroughly" sort of way (which I did and am), but in the "God loves me and has really blessed me" sort of way (which He does and continues to do). And that is a good thing.