Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving just two days away I have been reflecting on the past year and just how very much I have to be thankful for.

I have never ending gratitude for my relationship with the Lord.  My heart breaks when I think of all the people who weren't introduced to Christ as a child, or who live somewhere that they are persecuted for their faith.  Thank you God for being in my heart.  I have never had to truly struggle to get to know my Lord and Savior.

I am immensely grateful for my parents and my siblings.  As I have been reflecting on the past year, when it comes to my family I began to delve a little deeper and a little further back.  Sometimes it all feels like a whirlwind, and this time of year really puts how far we have come into perspective.  It was just three years ago that my mom and sisters first spent Thanksgiving in Grand Rapids with me.  My parents were fresh into a divorce, and no one really knew the right way to spend the holiday.  That year was a rough one.  But the next year it got better.  I was happier, and so were they. And this year, we are eager to continue this tradition and I will be cooking dinner for my mom, her amazing boyfriend, and both of my sisters with a smile on my face.  My family and I have had a rough go of it the past few years, and it caused me to question things at times, but love never left the equation.  Through thick and thin, months of fights and silent treatments, we always loved one another.  And that is why we came out so much stronger at the other end.  We make each other laugh, and that is the good stuff.

I don't even know how to put into words how thankful I am to have Mike in my life.  He is my favorite hug, my favorite song, my favorite laugh, and favorite smile.  He knows me inside and out and still loves me to pieces.  We have experienced a lot this year, and most of it was pretty great.  We will both finally call ourselves graduates this year as well as homeowners.  I could not ask for a better partner to spend my life journey with.  I am so thankful for Mike and the joy he brings to me.

I am thankful for life long friendships.  I have mentioned here before that I am not one to be constantly surrounded with handfuls of friends.  But that has never mattered for me.  Rather than blessing me with a large garden of carnations, God chose the most glorious roses for me to treasure for my entire life.  I have the very best friends in the world.  Some that I have had since grade school, some newer, and some I was blessed with at birth, all equally as precious and important to me.  Nothing can replace the feeling that friendship gives you.  And I am so, so thankful to have the best!

I am thankful to be moving into a house with the love of my life, this adventure is just beginning and it is going to be a blast!
I am thankful to have my nanny family in my life.
I am thankful that Mike and I have great jobs and that we are able to provide for one another and not have to worry about where to sleep at night or where to get our next meal.
I am thankful for my job at the shelter, the shifts get frustrating, but giving back to that population humbles me and blesses me all in one.