Giving Thanks

I have been watching all of my friends and family members countdown to Thanksgiving on FB, with what they are thankful for this season.  I did not join the countdown, or up, however you want to look at it, not because I think it is silly, or because I am not thankful, but just really out of laziness...bad I know.  I do thank God every night when I tuck in my kids and say prayers with them, and when I pray at night, so He knows how blessed I feel, so luckily no guilt in this heart for not following the FB trend.

Today I read other posts that really stirred my heart towards great thankfulness.  I grew up with and went to school with a family who are just waiting for a loved one to pass away because of the damage due to her brain from a stroke she suffered last week.  They had to make a decision between a surgery with no guarantees and a possibility of life in a nursing home, or taking out the ventilator and just waiting.  How does one just wait, watching their mom, sister, aunt, grandma leave this life and enter the next with Jesus for eternity?  I don't know the answer to that question, but I can say that as I read the families posts on FB, I am encouraged by their strength and trust in their God, who is bigger than the situation and knows everything. They are thanking God for their loved ones faith in Him and life lived for Him and His glory. They are celebrating the woman she was and that she will be remembered as.  They take comfort in those things, even though their hearts break at their loss, they know this is truly her gain, she will soon be in her loving Savior's arms.  Oh what glory that will be! Pray for this family for me.  They are strong and they will get through this, but they still are experiencing a loss, and no matter how strong, they will struggle and weep. So, life them up this Thanksgiving season, and thank our Lord for His hand on their lives and for conquering death for us all!  To the Mock family, may you truly have peace this holiday season that your loved one is in a much better place and she is smiling down on you all!

This has made me remember saying goodbye to loved ones over time. My Grandpa Johnson, my daddy, Marvin Smith, my Uncle Kevin Smith, a dear friend from college, Nick Dattilo, and many other friends and family friends over the years.  Each loss has had their impact on my life, because each person had an impact on my life.  I can honestly say that it never gets easier, but that with each experience, I can see God's hand at work in ways I thought never possible in those situations, and for that I am so thankful, I am comforted, I am positive of His sovereignty and love!

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am thankful that God knows the beginning, middle and end of each of our stories, and while I occasionally wish I knew it too, I know He has my best interest in mind and that I will only grow from all the good, bad and in between that I encounter daily.  I am thankful for all the little things, that really are big things; the beauty in each sunrise and sunset, my family and friends, my husband and his hard work to support us and desire to take care of us, my beautiful and healthy children (even when they are ornery!), my heath(even with its ups and downs), the sound of laughter, birds and rain, and the ability to worship my God, when and where I desire and how it feels natural to me!

I pray that the Mock family has a blessed Thanksgiving in spite of their loss, and that each and every person who reads this blog post will realize their blessings and thank God for them in this season, and that each heart would be touched and our faith would be renewed and our God lifted up in all that we do! Goodnight!