Thankful and blessed
November has come and gone. It's often a month of thanksgiving. Many of my family and friends have gone to doing a daily thing they are thankful for. I admire this, it's good to count our blessings. It helps remind us just how blessed we truly are, even in the tough stuff. A few years ago I tried it, but I felt like it wasn't honest. The truth is it is easy to recognize the big blessings but I have a lot harder time seeing all the little blessings in my life. Earlier in the month our pastor challenged us to count our blessings, make a list of what we are thankful for, or in some other way take some time to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for.
For several weeks now I have been trying to put my thoughts together and I am honestly still struggling. The truth is I have a really hard time "naming" my blessings. There are so many things in my life that I am thankful for it can be hard to make a list. so despite my struggle I am going to try, here we go...
I am thankful for my family.
For my parents, siblings, in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles and many more. Each and every one of them has a part in my story in some way, shape or form. Big or small it all matters. Every bit of love, kindness and compassion matters.
For my Church Family. Old and New. After having grown up in one church spending 20ish years in the same church it was really hard to find that level of family and community again. Our home church family really stepped in and were there for healing and growth. Now our current church family is just one more layer on the blessing cake. There are so many folks that have been a huge part in supporting me and helping me grow personally, spiritually, and so much more. There are handfuls of people I could call out individually for their support and encouragement but I won't today, it might make them blush.
For friends that have basically become family For the ones that have unwittingly touched us in such a way that they have been forever adopted as family, whether it is uncle/aunt or extra grandparents for our kids, every one of you make it easier in those rough moments to not have our family right there.
I am thankful for our needs being met.
I am thankful for always having food, water, shelter, power, transportation, heat, and so many more things. It is really easy to forget how many people wonder on a daily basis about those simple things. While the budget may not always be easy to work within we have never had a moment we didn't know how we were going to feed our family or even keep them warm. For that I am grateful, and seek to help those who can't say that.
I am thankful for God's direction in my life. There may be days in my life I don't understand where God is leading me or even the why but I can look back and see where he has brought me thus far. There is not a piece of my story that doesn't show God's love and kindness. There have been and still are some moments where I really have fought God on "why this?" "Why now?" However, I always come back to a place where I can trust that He works things out in the end.
I am thankful for encouragers.
Those people that send a message, stop in the middle of the store, let me plop down on their couch or even stand in the cold, just to gently nudge me forward when I begin to wonder if I am on the right track.
I am thankful for difficult times.
Yeah that one is odd, right? If it weren't for the hard parts of life though I wouldn't have found God's strength. Strength that he grants me when I need it most. I wouldn't have grown and become more courageous.
I am thankful for who God has made me. For every skill, strength and talent God has given me to use for His purposes. For all the training and circumstances he has given along the path. For every insecurity, flaw and failing that help me learn and change and be a better friend, wife, mother, etc.
I am thankful for Hope!
Hope that even when things look dark and difficult that God will be with me no matter which way things turn out.
I am thankful for dreams.
It is still really difficult for me to put my dreams into words, or even to admit them to the majority of the people around me, but I am thankful for their driving force, and the motivation they give me when the task before me is daunting.
This is not a complete list. There are still so many things that it is difficult to pinpoint. The truth is there are blessings all around us and so many are easy to overlook.
From the beginning of our marriage my husband and I have ended every day by sharing "one good thing" about the day. Some days it is as simple as surviving. Other days it is hard to find the good amongst the bad, but the goal is to never stop looking.
For several weeks now I have been trying to put my thoughts together and I am honestly still struggling. The truth is I have a really hard time "naming" my blessings. There are so many things in my life that I am thankful for it can be hard to make a list. so despite my struggle I am going to try, here we go...
I am thankful for my family.
For my parents, siblings, in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles and many more. Each and every one of them has a part in my story in some way, shape or form. Big or small it all matters. Every bit of love, kindness and compassion matters.
For my Church Family. Old and New. After having grown up in one church spending 20ish years in the same church it was really hard to find that level of family and community again. Our home church family really stepped in and were there for healing and growth. Now our current church family is just one more layer on the blessing cake. There are so many folks that have been a huge part in supporting me and helping me grow personally, spiritually, and so much more. There are handfuls of people I could call out individually for their support and encouragement but I won't today, it might make them blush.
For friends that have basically become family For the ones that have unwittingly touched us in such a way that they have been forever adopted as family, whether it is uncle/aunt or extra grandparents for our kids, every one of you make it easier in those rough moments to not have our family right there.
I am thankful for our needs being met.
I am thankful for always having food, water, shelter, power, transportation, heat, and so many more things. It is really easy to forget how many people wonder on a daily basis about those simple things. While the budget may not always be easy to work within we have never had a moment we didn't know how we were going to feed our family or even keep them warm. For that I am grateful, and seek to help those who can't say that.
I am thankful for God's direction in my life. There may be days in my life I don't understand where God is leading me or even the why but I can look back and see where he has brought me thus far. There is not a piece of my story that doesn't show God's love and kindness. There have been and still are some moments where I really have fought God on "why this?" "Why now?" However, I always come back to a place where I can trust that He works things out in the end.
I am thankful for encouragers.
Those people that send a message, stop in the middle of the store, let me plop down on their couch or even stand in the cold, just to gently nudge me forward when I begin to wonder if I am on the right track.
I am thankful for difficult times.
Yeah that one is odd, right? If it weren't for the hard parts of life though I wouldn't have found God's strength. Strength that he grants me when I need it most. I wouldn't have grown and become more courageous.
I am thankful for who God has made me. For every skill, strength and talent God has given me to use for His purposes. For all the training and circumstances he has given along the path. For every insecurity, flaw and failing that help me learn and change and be a better friend, wife, mother, etc.
I am thankful for Hope!
Hope that even when things look dark and difficult that God will be with me no matter which way things turn out.
I am thankful for dreams.
It is still really difficult for me to put my dreams into words, or even to admit them to the majority of the people around me, but I am thankful for their driving force, and the motivation they give me when the task before me is daunting.
This is not a complete list. There are still so many things that it is difficult to pinpoint. The truth is there are blessings all around us and so many are easy to overlook.
From the beginning of our marriage my husband and I have ended every day by sharing "one good thing" about the day. Some days it is as simple as surviving. Other days it is hard to find the good amongst the bad, but the goal is to never stop looking.
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