Being Thankful...

Being thankful, what does it mean?

This has been a hard year for so many of us. Whether you have been laid off, downsized, fired, or simply had your hours cut, you have been one of those dealing with making ends meet. This has been hard, especially since the cost of living has not been compassionate on those of us trying to support our families in tough times.

If someone close to you is sick, perhaps in the hospital or if you have lost someone you love this year, you know what it’s like to have a heart that is hurting and full of grief. Pain and suffering is no stranger to any of us.

Yesterday morning, when I was reading from Proverbs 24:10, these words pierced my heart: If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

Wow. This disqualifies no one. Every person created will face adversity. The question is, how will it grow us? Or, will it grow us? Jesus Christ faced troubles while living on earth. If He, the son of God, is not exempt, where do we come up with the idea that troubles will pass us by?

I don’t know about you, but I want my strength to be huge! I want it to be as tall as a mountain, as large as an ocean and as big as the sky. I want to be thankful for everything that I go through; the good and the bad. With that being said, I am thankful for the following:

I am thankful for friends who have loaned us a car, not only does it help me be mobile, but it teaches me humility.

I am thankful that I have learned that my husband’s belief in himself is more important than how many dollars we have in the bank.

I have learned and am thankful for the knowledge that possessions come and go. They are just things. Things don’t make the woman. Respecting and supporting my husband and loving and caring for my children show my character and integrity more than the finest gold in my jewelry box. I want my life to be measured by how much I loved, not what beautiful things decorated my home.

I am thankful that I have a warm home to live in and that by the grace of God, our rent and our bills are paid.

I am thankful for the feast that I will toil over tomorrow to show my family that I love and appreciate them, regardless of the fact that no guests will grace our table. They are worth it!

I am thankful that tomorrow, when my husband eats the pumpkin pie I baked just for him, he will know it was just for him. He will also know that it is because I honor him as the head of our home that he gets a pie no one else in our family will eat!

I am thankful for Pastor Charles and Pastor Stacy. Not only are they wonderful pastors, but the dearest of friends. I am blessed to be able to call them both.

I am thankful for our entire church body. I have learned and grown through the love of my brothers and sisters. I appreciate each and every one of them!

I am thankful that God, using extreme measures of mercy, chose to use me to Glorify Him. What an honor to write the words burning in my heart. I will never understand how He can love me, and the extent to which He loves me.

I could go on and on. There is so much to be thankful for. I think you get the idea. I am choosing to be thankful in the face of adversity. I am choosing to trust God in all things and believe that He knows what is best for me and my family. I pray that you ponder your life and find the huge, big, great strength it takes to be strong in your trials.

Happy Thanksgiving!