I've been thinking about the blessings of receiving service. Yes, receiving--and not just the temporal blessings, which are fairly obvious, but the spiritual and emotional blessings. I am a witness to the fact that I have been changed in a real way by the love of people I know and people I don't know. The love I have received has not been because I somehow deserved it, but, rather, because my Heavenly Father knew I needed it. For it is only natural to receive love from those whom you have spent time loving. But what about the love that comes from people you hardly know or don't even know? It changes you in a real, substantive way. That kind of love I've received has brought me a feeling of being rescued by the grace of God. I feel it has made me wonder at the blessing of the Atonement of the Savior, for He has come to my rescue through the angels He has put in my pathway in this life, those on this side of the veil and on the other side. Speaking of those angels on the other side, I used to want to hang my head in shame to know they are watching me and felt as if they were probably somehow scolding me and disappointed in the stupid things I do in my life. But I have been wrong. Those unearthly angels are, instead, cheering me on with hope that I will succeed, all the while whispering in my ear their sweet loving words of encouragement. I know this is true when I remember the special examples they were with me on this side of heaven. I have become a different person with the help of these seen and unseen friends in in my life. I have become convinced that I can find my footing, even when I cannot see my next step through the mists of darkness that pervade this life. I have always loved the words to the great hymn "Lead Kindly Light." The words were written in 1833 as a poem by John Henry Newman, titled "The Pillar of Cloud." A fourth verse was added by John Bacchus Dykes in 1865 and appears in some hymnbooks: 

"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me. I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on; I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on! I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years! So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on. O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone, And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I Have loved long since, and lost awhile! Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod, Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike faith, home to my God. To rest forever after earthly strife In the calm light of everlasting life." (Greg Olsen)