There was a totally awesome rain storm last night. (I wonder if my children love rain storms because of me--I totally love rain.) After raining for several hours, I awoke to the sounds of ice rain. After falling asleep for a few more hours, I woke up and saw snow falling all around. Sadly, the ground was too warm and the snow didn't stick. What is about rain storms that I like? Rain makes me pause and reflect on the world around me. Rain washes everything clean, while at the same time, it gives life to the earth. What an amazing multi-purposed element.

A little piece of New England Heaven.

For the past few weeks I have been pondering the message that President Monson delivered at the last session of General Conference:
"President David O. McKay made this statement: “Man’s greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others.”

Often we live side by side but do not communicate heart to heart. There are those within the sphere of our own influence who, with outstretched hands, cry out, 'Is there no balm in Gilead?'

I am confident it is the intention of each member of the Church to serve and to help those in need. At baptism we covenanted to 'bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light.' How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that 'oh, surely someone will take care of that need.'

We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the 'thick of thin things.' In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.

Many years ago I heard a poem which has stayed with me, by which I have tried to guide my life. It’s one of my favorites:

I have wept in the night
For the shortness of sight
That to somebody’s need made me blind;
But I never have yet
Felt a tinge of regret
For being a little too kind

My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.

You may lament: I can barely make it through each day, doing all that I need to do. How can I provide service for others? What can I possibly do?"

New Goals = New Heart. I desire a new heart. I also think, "What can I possibly do?" I hope that I will find the answer to the question in the daily acts of my life.