Good Morning Everyone!
As I sit at my computer this morning listening to my baby scream at me, because I won't hold her 24 hours a day without a break, I am reflecting on things I am thankful for in my life. So, in honor of tomorrow being Thanksgiving I thought I would write a thankful blog!
I have so much to be thankful for in my life it is hard to know where to even begin. First of all, I am thankful that I have my faith in God to guide me through this life. It isn't always easy to live in this world but, with God's guidance and constant love I feel like everything will always be OK even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.
I am thankful for all of my childhood dreams coming true, even if they weren't exactly how I pictured it, they really did all come true. I am thankful for my crazy, messy, teeny home filled with 4 beautiful children and a husband who truly was created just for me. I am thankful for all of my parents and I have a lot of them! I am thankful for my mother who did the best she could under our circumstances, I am thankful for my father who never really grew up but, at the same time hasn't grown old because of it and I love that about him!
Let me tell you all, something, I am thankful for all I have no matter what! I would much rather have my baby pulling at my leg and crying than not have her. I would much rather have a mother that I don't really see eye to eye with than not have a mother at all. I know many people that are going through some rather difficult things right now and I pray that in writing a blog like this, everyone can find something to be thankful for in their lives. No matter how difficult life seems to be right now, or how sad or how wrong everything seems to be, there is always something to be thankful for.
I have always been a very positive person. Yes, in reading some of my blogs you might not always see that positivity but, if you knew me in person, you would see a lot of it. Remember my blogs are just a window into my life, they are not my entire life. Life is good, it is hard but, it is good. Unfortunately with the good comes the bad and sometimes life seems overly unfair and difficult but, I know from my experiences it always gets better somehow, someway.
Looking back at my life, at all of those boyfriends I cried over because I thought my life would end because they weren't 'the one'. Thank GOD those relationships ended! Otherwise, I wouldn't have my husband, my 4 children, my cat, my dog, my home, my LIFE! I am thankful for those relationships and everything I went through with them, they helped form who I am now and I learned how to deal with certain things. I am thankful for my husband losing his job not once but, twice and then three times in 4 years. Yes, I am very thankful for that time in our lives. Not only did it help us to grow as a couple and a family but, it also led us to people that we would have never met. It led us to grow in our faith, it taught us how to lean on friends and on God. It also showed us what it is truly like to be on the verge of losing everything you own. I am so thankful for that time in my life. It has taught me that people with less than myself deserve the same things as I do if not more! I got over myself and my thinking that people should just be thankful they are getting food when I gave food to the food shelves. No longer, now I give them what I would want and what I wanted when my family had to 'shop' at the food shelf each month.
I am thankful for good friends that have stood by my family and I through our ups and downs. I am thankful for friends that we have stood by and continue to stand by through their ups and downs. Life is so much more than things. Life is so much more than stuff. Life is so much more than money. I have seen too many people gain and then lose it all, I have seen so many people lose so much yet, they continue to live, they continue to grow and they hopefully continue to learn from past mistakes.
Life is a hard thing to do sometimes but, there is always something to be thankful for if you really look around. Life is full of lessons to learn and grow from. You can hold on to the past and live a life of regret. You can hold on to the future of someday and miss the present. I am learning to live in the now. I am learning that right now is what matters and right now is where I need to focus. Yes, you need to look at your past and be thankful for the lessons learned and be thankful for the memories. Yes, you need to look to your future and be thankful for what you might be like then. Yes, you need to plan for the future however, you also need to live for today and be thankful for each day you have.
Use your head, use your heart, and most importantly, lean on your friends and your God for guidance. I am thankful everyday for so much including you! I am thankful I have a voice that can reach out to others and to hopefully touch people.
Thank you all for walking through a small window of my life with me and to those dear friends of mine who read this blog, thank you so much for walking through a rather large door of my life with me. Thank you to my husband for walking through the largest cave of my life with me and not only still staying with me but, loving me even more to spite myself. Thank you to my children for loving me even when you 'hate' me and for giving me the greatest joy I have ever experienced in life. I pray that I won't mess you all up too bad and that your therapy bills won't be too high when you are adults :-)
Thank you to my parents for rushing into marriage and having me. Even though things didn't work out for your marriage, you taught me so much about what kind of a mom, wife, friend I want to be. Thank you to my step-father who has always treated me like his own daughter and who often played 2nd fiddle to my 'real' dad for much of the fun but, stood by me through the icky stuff.
Thank you to my extended family of step-people, Aunts, Uncles, a Grandfather, cousins, 'brother', mother in law, sisters and other in-laws and who ever else is part of my rather LARGE extended family! All of you have guided me and watched over me in some special way and all of you have helped me to be who I am. Many of you are still walking with me in life on a regular basis and I am so thankful to you all for being here. Not just because you are family and you have to but, because you want to.
Thank you dearly to my friends. My current group of friends is the closest and most loving group of friends I have had in my life. Some have been friends for a long time, most are newer friends that have only in recent years become a part of my 'family'. I have friends that I can truly lean on, rely on, and trust. My friends not only love me but, they love my husband and my children and it is fun to walk through life with these people!
Lastly and most importantly, thank you to God! Lord, I would have nothing without you. Thank you for constantly pursuing me and relentlessly pursuing me! Thank you for loving me when I probably didn't deserve it and holding me when I needed it. Thank you for never letting me go and thank you for guiding me even when I fought you every step of the way. Thank you for allowing me your forgiveness over and over and over again! Thank you for hitting me over the head with your 'love' mallet and for FINALLY letting me see, feel, and trust your love! October 15, 2000 truly was the best day of my life and I am thankful that I now am able to live a life devoted to you.
This Thanksgiving what are you all thankful for? No matter what is going on in your life right now, stop, sit down, and think about all the things you are thankful for. Be sure to thank someone today, you never know if that will become their thankful part of the day. God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!
Blessings to you all this Thanksgiving Holiday!
-Liza
