Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving, is that time of year for loads of food, warm winter sweaters and being around those you love. Coming to a table of family and friends in remembrance for all that we have to be thankful for. For myself this year has been incredibly hard but I couldn’t be more thankful for the friends and family God has blessed me with. It has been through their encouragement, friendship and love that I have been able to push through all the struggles that have crossed my path. Without them and my Father’s undying love for me I would have not gotten through all of it. Here is a short re-cap of what I’m thankful for: My company went through three layoffs, I’m thankful I still have a job. After three months I found out my boyfriend cheated on me with his ex, I’m thankful I found out before I got too far into it. I ran my second marathon this year, I’m thankful I finished well. Dating again has been a huge rollercoaster ride, I’m thankful I’m not in any bad relationships and I am learning to be content being single. I almost made a huge mistake by moving to B-Ripple, I’m thankful God took me out of that situation. When my wallet and all my credit cards got stolen, I’m thankful nothing bad happened and even though it was a pain I got everything taken care of. I moved into my first one bedroom apartment, I’m thankful God provided the funds to do that. And when I thought all was lost and it didn’t seem like there was anywhere to turn, I’m thankful God was right there beside me. Needless to say I have much to be thankful for. Even though my struggles may seem minuscule compared to the rest of the world, they really challenged me this year to grow stronger and deeper in my faith than ever before. I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful thanksgiving and is blessed by the ones you love. Lastly, I will leave you with a verse that I hold dear to my heart. It will be my prayer for you this Thanksgiving.

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” – Philippians 1:3-11