I Have Alot To Be Thankful For…

I’ve been writing this post in my head since I walked out of church last night.  The service was moving.  It was powerful.  It was what I needed.

Please don’t get me wrong, I know that I have a lot to be thankful for, but when you’re in the throws of life, everyday life, it’s so hard to think of those things.  We, or at least, I, tend to dwell on what I don’t have, what I can’t do, and what I want to change.

But when I sit back and ponder, even if just for a minute, I realize that I have so very much to be thankful for.  Here are just a few of those things… in no particular order…

• My salvation.  I’m going on two years a very different person.  I am now a person that I like.. no love.  I love myself.  I didn’t think that would ever happen.  Ever.  But it did.
• My children.  They weren’t planned.  They messed with the plans that I had for my life, but in the grand scheme of things, they are what saved my life.  I don’t even want to think about where I would be right now if they didn’t come along when they did.
• My biological family.  Despite our differences and geographical distance, my family is a huge part of who I am today.  I’m thankful for parents who raised me to the best of their ability, who gave me everything that I needed and most of what I wanted and who are wonderful grandparents to my children.  I am thankful for my grandparents and my brother and his wife.
• My church family.  I didn’t know that this kind of love existed.  They have been there for me through so much and continue to encourage me to keep going, even when I don’t think that I can.
• My friends.  I’ve had “friends” through my life and then I’ve had friends.  Real friends.  I have four women who have been there for me, who know me, who aren’t afraid to tell me when I’ve done well or screwed up.  They make me laugh, they comfort me when I cry and we have such an amazing bond.  Becki, Sondra, Shelly, and Myra, I love you and I hope that I can give back to you half of what you’ve given to me over the years.
• My home.  It’s the white trash house of the neighborhood, but the roof doesn’t leak.  It’s mine.  Well, ok, so it belongs to the bank, technically, but I pay for it every month and it was my last true step of independance.
• My job.  It’s stressful, it’s ever changing, but it’s what fits me.  I was made to work in TV and I’ve proven that.  And I’ve had some doozies of jobs over the years, very fortunate that most all of them were very family friendly, but this time, this job, this company, these owners, go above and beyond what I expect out of an employer.  They, too, are considered family, especially my boss.  December marks 10 years that I’ve known him and 8 years that I’ve worked for him.  It’s a friendship that we’ve built and I’m so thankful that he pushes me outside of my comfort zone and for all the things that he’s taught me.
• My health.  So I’ve got some things wrong with me and have to carry my pharmacy with me.  It doesn’t matter.  I could be so much worse.  I’ve been blessed with good health and very healthy children, and for that I am grateful, especially since I wasn’t the best pregnant mother in the world.
• The internet.  The internet has opened so many doors for me that I never thought possible.  The internet allows me to work from home so that I can be there for my children and gives me an outlet to be heard.  Moreover, I’ve met people who want to hear me and who I want to hear and has given me so many friends from across the world.  Without the internet, I don’t know that I would’ve found Jesus when I did.  I can’t bear to think about that.
• The Men and Women in the Armed Forces.  Because of them, I am free to write this.  I’m free to do so many other things and they serve every day, whether at home or abroad, to protect my freedoms.
• The boy.  Sounds corny, but it’s true.  I’m thankful that I’ve found someone who accepts me and my children for who we are, faults and all.  It’s kinda cool.

I’m sure that I could sit here and tell you so many more things that I am thankful for.  I am thankful for so many things and as long as I keep sight of these, I can’t go wrong… no matter what life throws at me.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful, blessed thanksgiving.

Until next time…