My Thanksgiving Post

Turkeys, leaves, family, friends, food galore, football games, talking, laughing, being thankful.

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It is just a nice reminder to pause and think about all that I am thankful for. This year, especially, I find myself being extra thankful. Maybe it's the fact that I graduate in less than 7 months. Maybe it's the fact that I realize anew how fleeting life is. Maybe I finally understand how blessed I am. I don't really know, but I do know that I am very thankful.

I wanted to share with you some of the things I am extra thankful for this year.

1. My Lord and Savior. He is the reason that I am here. He is the reason I have hope in this life and beyond. He is the prime example and very definition of love and service. He is my Heavenly father, my King, my God, the Keeper of my Heart ... my Everything.
2. My biological family. Oh my stars! The laughter, the goofiness, the smiles, the deep talks. The selflessness of my mother. The loyalty and courage of my father. The fighting spirit of my brother. The sweetness and humor of my other brother. How grateful I am for them. They've always been there and they will be for as long as God allows. They discipline me, encourage me, and are where I always know I am welcome.
3. My Christian family. These are the people who never cease to encourage my heart and point me to God. They affirm me and watch my back. They challenge me and push me to never settle for less than God's best. I am a firm believer in the fact that I wouldn't be half the woman I am becoming without them.
4. My Courter. God saw fit to bless me with a man who desired to court me. I wasn't looking for him and I turned him down many times, even still he has stayed and pursued me everyday. He challenges me, encourages me, and points me to the Lord. What an unexpected and unspeakable blessing!
5. Open doors. Even when I chose to ignore them, God still had His way. The best moments of this past year have been where God opened doors and despite fear and doubt, I still walked through them (at times God pushed me violently through them). Those were the best things I could have done. Had I not, I can't imagine how different my life would be right now!
6. Closed doors. Despite the tears, frustration, and, at times, downright anger, I am so thankful for the doors God closed, bolted, locked, and sealed with steel. I did not understand the reason for them all, but I know that they were God's best. They were also the push I sometimes needed to get me through the open doors I had refused to acknowledge.
7. Little moments: Singing to country music in a van full of students, baking cranberry bread, a new pair of earrings, a good book, a long conversation, Sour Patch kids candy, writing a letter, hoodies, sunsets, bonfires, stars, Cheez-It crackers, a fuzzy blanket, a warm hug, a baby smiling.....the things that are not necessary for life, but make it more enjoyable; the things memories are made of

For all these things and many more I thank God for this Thanksgiving. May Thanksgiving be more than a day for us, but something we do daily. There is definitely never a shortage of things we can be thankful for!

 

"And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20