Being thankful isn’t something that I reserve just for Thanksgiving Day. I also don’t wait until February 14 to show my husband love and adoration. I think how Jesus died on the Cross and rose again for the penalty of my sins everyday, not just during the Easter season. Same with Christmas; December 25th is a magical day, but more magical than that is showing your love and devotion for Jesus Christ?all year long. Veterans who have willingly served to protect my freedom deserve a thank you more than just one day in November. And so on and so on. My point here is this,?have a thankful heart past today. It’s very easy during times that seem grim to play the victim and feel sorry for yourself. It is during those times when counting your blessings can be the hardest, but it is also when it’s the most important. Here’s a few things that at the time I didn’t think I would be thankful for, but now I am.

• Almost divorcing my husband. Because now our love is stronger than I ever thought it could be and I appreciate? him more than I ever did before. I now know that I don’t ever want to?be without him. Marriage isn’t always easy, but loving Chase comes as easy as breathing for me. If I hadn’t seen what life was like without him, I may not feel the need to hold onto what we have so tightly.
• Having a miscarriage. Going through that kind of pain changed me and took me to a dark place that I was afraid I wouldn’t get out of.?Less than 3?months after that loss I found out I was having my youngest, Trevor. He would not be here if I hadn’t suffered that miscarriage.
• Being in an abusive relationship as a teenager. It does something to a young?woman to be physically, emotionally and mentally abused by someone they think?cares for?them. There were?several negatives that came from that situation that had to be overcome, but there were positives, too. I walked away from?it a much stronger and smarter person.
• Losing friends along the way?that I really thought I would have forever. These friends had over stayed their welcome, but I just couldn’t picture my life without them. They all had parts of me that I wasn’t sure that I was ready to say goodbye to. Now my?load is lighter because I left those parts with those friends and I can continue to grow into a better person.
• Moving back to my hometown where I grew up. When you have to regularly overcome your past to get to your future it can only be described as character building. By now I think I’ve?built up?quite a bit of character. This little town has given us many blessings though and I feel confident that when the time is right we’ll move on. Maybe next year I’ll be thankful for adventures that a new town brings.

I hope that maybe I’ve given you a little food for thought on this day where we think so much about food. I don’t mean to downplay holidays, but let’s remember we can observe what they stand for all year long. Try to have a thankful heart each and every day.

“The unthankful heart…discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessing.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher