Thankful!

Thankful- grateful and appreciative.

For a majority of the last few years I have taken an entitlement attitude. “As a Christian, God you are entitled to make this road easy for me and if you don’t it is because you don’t love me.” To tell you the truth my attitude has stunk. Sure I had my moments of clarity, but my entitlement attitude caused me to sink into a deep depression. Steven Furticks message on Sunday really resonated in my soul on being Thankful. So today I focus on the things I am thankful for…

I am thankful for a relationship with Christ that is about more than just me. That He loves me enough He will allow me to walk through things that will not only change my character but impact people along the way. I am thankful that He sees more potential in me than I see in myself. That He trusts me enough to know that when I can’t handle anymore, I can turn to Him and He can carry the rest. I am thankful that I have a relationship with Him because without Him I would have never made it through.

I am thankful for a husband that is totally opposite from me! Thankful that he is not sensitive and emotional like me, but that he is more level headed and factual. God knew we needed both of our characteristics to make it through! I thank God for Jason’s sense of humor that helped us laugh when things were very dark.

I am thankful for the bosom buddy that God gave me in Christy. Without this experience we would have never met and I can’t imagine how much different life would be without her. No one gets me at the depth that she does! No matter the length of time that goes by, we can pick up like no time has passed. She is someone who always knows when to speak and when just to say I am sorry!

I am thankful for all of my family who called to check on us, who came over to clean my house, who paid for cleaners when they knew we couldn’t.  Thankful for all the hours they spent at the hospital and time spent keeping family informed through email and phone so we could focus on Brayden. Thankful for their love and all the time and gas they spent to be with us. Thankful for each and every one of them that met our needs using the gifting that God had given them! Without their support we could not have made it.

I am thankful for all the friends that partnered with us. That cooked, prayed and sent out emails. I am thankful for all of you!

I am thankful for all the people along the way that God has allowed us to meet. All the Ron’s that prayed for us. All the Natalie’s that through His divine appointments, allowed us to meet. All the awesome nurses like Louise that took care of Brayden. All the Emily’s that believed with us in the impossible and did not settle for the reports! For that, I am thankful!

So many times, it is easy to get caught up in the pain and allow it to crimple you from reaching your full potential. Thankfulness is a choice! It is an attitude. No matter how dark your situation is, there is something you can find to be thankful over! Today, I am choosing thankfulness because God really has blessed me with so much.