What I Believe (Today)

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is a perfect day to be reminded to be thankful. For anything. For everything. I wish I could say my heart was full with love and thanks today, but at this point, we all know where my mental health is at.

As I was driving home from my family’s Thanksgiving, I was bombarded with emotion. Mainly negative emotion. But in the midst of that, I caught myself having one repeated thought: There’s a reason all of this happened. Once I was able to grasp that, I realized that instead of being sad, I should be thankful.

When I say “thankful”, I’m sure a lot of you are thinking that I’m sitting here happy that I’m feeling this way and I’m thanking God for this. Far from it. I’m thankful because I’m grateful. I acknowledge the process. I know that there is something greater. It’s easy to blame God when things go wrong. This time, let’s try being thankful for things going wrong. Thankful that God cares enough to show me that life was not going the way He had written for me.

For the rest of the car ride, I began to think of things I’m thankful for. Even the little things. I want to share those with you, so you can be reminded of how easy it is to be thankful, even for the smallest things.

-I’m thankful for the roof over my head. There have been too many times in this life that I’ve been unsure of where I’d be sleeping next. Having a home and a bed makes me feel safe and secure.

-I’m thankful for my family. They accept me for who I am, and they’re not afraid to challenge me to be better or grow.

-I’m thankful for my dogs. Everyday I catch myself slip or feel a tear come down my cheek, one of them is always there to jump up on me and help lick all the sadness off. (If you’re a cat person, I guess I understand, but you really don’t know what you’re missing.)

-I’m thankful for my friends. I’d never think that I would walk into a job (especially as a manager) and walk out with lifetime friendships and a new family.

-I’m thankful for another day of life. Take nothing for granted. Being able to open my eyes and see the shining sun is my greatest blessing.

-I’m thankful for the reader. I’m no one. What I have to say is not the most important message. But you chose to take some time out of your day to see what I have to say. That means a lot to me.

As we enter the holiday season, we are entering both the happiest season and the loneliest season of the year. The sun is setting early. It’s cold. With that, it’s easy to forget the blessings. Let’s remind each other. Let’s be thankful for each other. Let’s be there for each other. Be thankful for the life you have. Even if it isn’t easy, it is the best gift to ever be given.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We will never stop thanking you. Amen.

-cg