Thankful

I have been blessed with two wonderful small groups where every week I have a chance to spend time with beautiful people, open up to them, hear them open up, and pray. And for the past several weeks these groups have been nothing but a constant reminder of how blessed I am to have what I have. Hearing about other people's struggles has filled my heart with overwhelming gratitude for having almost a perfect life. And even though Thanksgiving is a month away, I just want to share all the things that I have been thankful for lately and the stories -- no names mentioned -- that made me more aware of those blessings.

I am thankful for my family, and especially for the fact that they are close. There isn't just one prayer request that came up in recent group discussions where someone asked for unity in the family, restoration of the family, and more open relationships with parents, siblings, and spouses. There is an overwhelming sense of wanting to belong with the people that are most dear to our hearts. There is a yearning for security and stability in relationships with a unit that is supposed to automatically accept you as you are, but often does not. It's not that I wasn't aware of the fact that my family is a blessing before. But lately I have been extra thankful for it. Perhaps the only completely open, accepting, and secure relationship that I have is with my family. I know that I belong there. I know that my home is a place where I'll be taken care of and accepted, no matter what! And home is only an hour away. So I can tap into that security literally at any moment that I want! My family is what I value most, and I can't believe that I am the one who was blessed to have that relationship in the middle of the world where people view it as an exception.

Another thing I'm thankful for is my apartment. I'm thankful that it's cozy, warm, safe, and secure. I'm thankful that I can afford it. I'm thankful that my landlord is normal. And I'm thankful that I'm at a place in life where I can have a space that is entirely my own and that I love coming back to every day. Both of my prayer groups lately have had people struggle with finding a good living situation. Some of them went through waters and fires to find a suitable place to settle down. Others have been looking for compatible roommates and struggling with deciding or even finding an honest person to live with. Their prayers made me way more appreciative of something that - I hate to admit - I took more for granted at first. By His grace, God has made the transition from my parents' house into my own so smooth and painless that I thought that this is the way it always works. And I'm just overwhelmingly appreciative of this now that I see what people go through just to find A place to live -- not to mention a place they love, like I love mine.

I'm thankful for my job. As much as it's not a dream job, I have to admit that I get it pretty easy. Within certain restrictions, I am pretty much on my own time. I've been blessed with a supervisor that people only wish for -- the kind that protects his team and looks for resources to aid them in their work instead of nitpicking on every mistake and micromanaging every step. The amount of work that I do can often be overwhelming. But at least it's not the kind that I have to worry about before going to bed at night. And an overwhelming amount of work is much better than no work. Especially in this economy. My position is secure. I have no reason to worry about being fired. My benefits are excellent. And my department is for the most part awesome -- I get along with everyone. I respect our director and am learning a ton of things from him, as well as from my supervisor. And the pay, although not exactly anybody's dream salary, is more than enough to pay for my bills, trips, and entertainment without getting into debt. I hear people praying for situations that seem insanely overwhelming to me. Bosses that yell and don't deal with glaring issues. Situations that are unethical, at the least, which supervisors choose to close their eyes on. Unfair compensation, unreasonable hours, and unfathomable co-workers. All those thing just make me extra thankful for what I have but often don't value.

I am thankful for all the Christians who surround me. I see people who struggle with loneliness and don't have that resource available to them. I got depressed on Monday. That feeling only lasted for a couple hours. And the reason for a quick recovery from something that people struggle with for years is a community of Jesus -loving people who were praying for me or were just there to talk to me and surround me with love. God centered fellowship made me snap out of it faster than anything esle could have. But there are so many people out there who don't have that! They don't have people they trust and can be open enough to pray with. They don't have unjudgmental understanding, and support. All they have is an overwhelming avalanche of emotions to deal with all on their own -- a difficult task at the least! I've been blessed with an incredible amount of people through whom God pours out His love on me in a competely tangable way! And I'm very thankful for that.

I feel cradled in God's arms. I feel like He takes care of me really well, and sometimes seemingly much better than of the people around -- although I KNOW that it's not true because He loves EVERYONE. I don't deserve it. But I am out of my mind thankful for it.