Happy Giving THANKS Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've really been trying to be grateful this year.  I know it sounds silly, but (despite my very recent promise to God that I would never ask for anything again), I spent the beginning of this year not feeling very grateful at all.  I threw myself one heck of a pity party.  It seemed like everyone around me was snapping their fingers and *poof* getting what they wanted immediately.  Not so in this girl's life. 

Yes, I was grateful for our family's health and all of the important things, but I wanted some FUN stuff and to have FUN sometimes, too, like EVERYONE else!

Well, I eventually made it out of that funk.  It wasn't a specific light bulb moment, but a couple of things helped get me back on track. 

One day, "You're not missing out" was posted on a daily thought Dayspring.com.  With that, I realized this--someone's NOW may be my LATER or it may be my NEVER.  That is up to God to decide.  Similarly, my NOW may be someone else's LATER or their NEVER.  God makes each of us equipped to handle what He has in store for us--the good and the bad.  I'm not missing out.  I'm not.  I put in on my fridge and it has been a good reminder when I start to slip slightly back into that attitude. 

It also didn't hurt that our Well-Read Mom book club has read The Good Earth and A Lantern in Her Hand, both of which portrayed farming families nearly dying of starvation and facing hard lives we can only imagine.  As we sipped our chai tea, we all realized we don't have one tiny thing to complain about.

So, I am thankful for both the big and small things that I so often take for granted.  (And I did receive plenty of FUN this year, too.  I just needed to put on my patience pants and wait a little bit.) 

"He has made everything beautiful in its time."  Yes, I KNOW that.

But, sometimes it's easy to forget. 

If you are reading this, I am thankful for YOU and how you have touched my life. :)