Things I Love about You

Wendy Allred, Colorado

Little did we know that one family home evening activity would have such a lasting impact on us.

Inspired by lessons at seminary, my brother Dennis decided to help us share positive comments about one another. He gave each of us enough pieces of paper to write something about each of our eight family members. At the top of these pages it said, “Things I love about ___________,” followed by 10 numbered spaces for our comments. We soon got busy filling in the blanks. When we finished, we exchanged the pages written about us so that each person received 80 compliments.

Of course, we all enjoyed reading others’ positive impressions of us, but the full impact of this activity was yet to come. Throughout the years, I sometimes struggled to make righteous choices or to feel good about myself. During these low points, I would turn to these special pages that I kept in my journal and re-read them to feel hopeful and loved.

I thought I was the only one who had kept them, but after my sister Taunya died from leukemia in September 2001, I found her journal. Tucked inside was her set of well-worn pages with our family’s praises. When I shared this with my siblings, they all said that they, too, had kept their copies close by in times of trial.

Our family has been blessed to know that we love and support one another—forever.