What a whirlwind of a month!! From homeschool to Disney World to spending Thanksgiving with extended family, November has flown by quickly! I can't let Thanksgiving slip by with out stopping to share the top three things that I am thankful for this year.
1. God's presence, comfort, and strength have been wrapped around me and my family this year as we experienced the loss of precious family and friends--my grandma, Ami, and Shirley. These were women who poured out their lives for God in a variety of ways whether it was through music, writing, or a professional career. They lived their lives to the fullest while having an eternal perspective. Healing finally came as they entered the arms of Jesus! While I miss these ladies dearly (especially my grandma), I know that their lives are complete with Christ. I'm thankful that God has an eternal plan for our lives and that whatever happens here on earth (good and bad) pales in comparison with what lies ahead. I'm thankful for legacies that continue to point me back to God and challenge me to live for what is eternal. As God wrapped me up in His comfort, gave me strength when I felt like crawling in a hole and crying for days, and was there every step of the way, He revealed His fatherly nature to me. He showed me grace in such personal ways as He drew me closer to Him through His care and comfort. How thankful I am for a God that pursues us and who never turns us away even when we delay in coming to Him!
2. I'm ever thankful for my husband and son. They see the best and the worst of me on a daily basis and continue to love me no matter what. We learn together. We explore together. We laugh together and we live together. My husband has been such a constant through all the loss this year. He's given me his shoulder to cry on and says nothing about his tear-stained shirts. He's held me tight in those late nights and early mornings when my heart didn't know whether it was going to break or be okay. And he's patiently put up with household chores that got lost in the shuffle and stepped up to fill in the gap when I was trying to figure out how to just make it to the next day as I walked through the fog of grief. As I told him today, "I'm thankful for you still", we chuckled over the word "still"...twelve years later and through the ups and downs of life and love, he is still my best friend! When marriages are crumbling all around us, I'm thankful that God helps us persevere and fight for the beauty of our marriage.
3. This year has brought about a lot of questions and changes as I struggled to find my place knowing what God has done with me in the past (ministry-wise) versus what is right in front of me and learning to serve Him in a different way using different talents with patience and contentment. I'm thankful for a church where growth can happen, where we can experiment with different talents and learn to serve God in a variety of ways. I'm thankful for a couple of women who have invested in me through the time they have spent listening, loving, advising, teaching, showing me new things, and praying for me. And I'm thankful for the community of friends that are always there with hugs, texts, and just the pure joy and sweetness of friendship that comes from serving together, singing together, and raising kids together in our church. I'm thankful for the young women that God has placed in my path at church and the joy of watching them wrestle with life's challenges as they enter adulthood and seeing them trust God in their challenges and praising with them as God shows them new things and answers our prayers. It's exciting to see how God is working in the lives around me!
There are so many things to be thankful for if we just stop long enough to see what is all around us! James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." It's amazing to see just how many things God has given us and how much He has opened up His hand to us! May we always remember where our blessings and gifts really come from, not just on Thanksgiving day, but every day!
Happy Thanksgiving!
