I woke up with a very thankful heart this Thanksgiving morning. I have so much to be thankful for in my life. I take so much for granted and I am especially thankful for a time to focus in on what I am truly thankful for.
This spirit of thankfulness is something that I want to life everyday and instill in my children’s hearts.
Today I am thankful for many, many things, but I’ll leave you with this list.
1. Christ and the gift of salvation that I have received from him. I am so thankful for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Because of his salvation I have eternal life and I can have an eternal perspective in this life. I have truly been given a life of abundance (John 10:10). I can have peace in any circumstance because of his constant companionship. My relationship with Christ has been challenged over this last year. It has been challenged and it has grown. I thank him for molding me and making he His!
2. I am thankful for my husband. He is a true servant to God, to his soldiers, and to our family. He gives so much of himself. I am thankful for the love that we share. I am thankful for the support and encouragement he gives me from miles away. I am thankful for the wonderful father that he is to our children. I am thankful for his calling and his passion to serve. And I am thankful for his sacrifices, they are many.
3. I am thankful for my children. They are such amazing gifts from God. I fail them daily and I feel so unworthy to be their mother. But God has saw fit to give me the opportunity to be just that. I am thankful for their sweet little hearts, for their love of people, for their excitement for life. I am thankful for the many, many lessons that they teach me. I am thankful for their companionship. And I am thankful for the beautiful people that they are going to become.
4. I am thankful for my family. I will be missing the big Thanksgiving meal at my Grandmama’s house today. It sounds like almost everyone will be there. I am thankful for their love, for their support, for their encouragement. I am thankful for the way my relationship with them has grown over the years. I am also thankful for my husband’s family and the support that they give me. They have graciously accepted me as one of their own.
5. I am thankful for my friends, both near and far away. At the beginning and even before this deployment began I prayed about my desire for friends and while I wanted to develop strong friendships during this time, I was also completely prepared to be lonely. By that, I mean, I was at peace for whatever God had in store for me. And if that meant that I wouldn’t be surrounded by friends here, I was ready to spend my time growing in my relationship with Him. But He has blessed my life immensely with good friendships, beyond anything I could have imagined. Just last night I received an e-mail from a friend full of thanksgiving for our friendship and how God has brought us together during this time. I have had several friends move away but God has been gracious in providing new friends every time. I’m also thankful for the friendships I’ve been able to develop and maintain with those of you who are on the other side of the ocean and in the blogosphere. I don’t take you for granted!
6. I am thankful for technology. Because of it I have been able to communicate with my husband. He has been able to stay connected with us. We are so blessed that we are separated during this period in time when we have such an opportunity to keep in touch with each other through e-mail, chat, blogs, and web-cams. I am thankful that my parents recently got a computer and web-cam so that we are able to communicate with them more and I can see my family that I miss so much. I am thankful for this blog and the opportunity I have to communicate our life with all of you. I am thankful for the support and encouragement I have received from all of you that take the time to read what I write. And I am thankful for other outlets of social media like Facebook and Twitter that I can always have a way to communicate with friends and other moms.
7. I am thankful for all the things that I didn’t mention. I am thankful that there is so much to be thankful for that this could never ever be a complete list.
We truly have so much to be thankful for. Every breath that we breathe is a precious gift from our God and an opportunity to serve him faithfully.
I pray that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving with hearts full of thankfulness!
Nancy says
What a great list! Happy Thanksgiving!
marina says
i actually say this list daily, why only thanksgiving when we are blessed everyday!