It's Late...Again...I've Been Thinking...Again...

Many of my Facebookians are participating in the Give Thanks For Something Each Day thing. Very cool. I like it. I think that Non-thankfulness is one of our biggest sins as a whole. Are we truly thankful for what we have been given. Right. Now. Are you thankful?

I remember all too well the day I was at TR Jackson Pre-K. Ella had been there for a few months, and she was improving daily. At the time, her big new thing was to yell, "But I love you!" after she had been naughty and was being corrected. It was the only time she said it. I was relating this story to Ella's teacher and the school nurse, who was at Ella's class for some reason. I noticed the nurse was getting teary. She said her son was completely non-verbal, and his prognosis was that he would never talk and would more than likely never say, "I love you." She just looked at me with such longing. It was heartbreaking.

I was truly ashamed at that moment. I was NOT thankful for what I had. Ella just needed some help. She would improve to the point of not shutting up when she really, really should. I couldn't see that then. God used that nurse to remind me that He brings me good things albeit challenging sometimes. I need to be thankful for what I have right now this very moment. Not what God might bring tomorrow because He hasn't promised me tomorrow.

These are things I'm thankful for right now even some of these things are challenges to be met.

1) I am thankful for my Amazonian girls. Yes, they are crazy tall, and yes, it's hard for them. Yes, it's hard for me because I don't want them to go through the crap I had to go through for being the tallest girl in the class. However, my girls are so healthy, they won't stop growing, and I thank you, Jesus, for their continued good health.

2) I am thankful for a husband who is faithful and is a hard worker. He's not the most Rico Suave guy in the world. He can be awkward, shy and geeky. He's also taller than me when I'm wearing six inch heels...okay, I don't wear six inch heels but if i did... He gets me. He's cool with my weird. He might not be the world's pick of Prince Charming, but the world is so into fake that genuine is ignored. I'll take my genuine bottle of awesome sauce, and the world can keep it's prince charmings.

3) I am thankful for my family. We're messed up. We'll give you the clothes off our backs. If we like you, sorry about your luck, but you can't even get paroled out of the family. We are loyal until the end, unless you jerk us around and then we make your life miserable. No, we're not perfect, but I wouldn't be the kind of person who stands up for others when no one else does if I had not seen it so often done and celebrated in my own family. We're messed up, but you so want us on your side.

4) I'm thankful for all of my crazy friends. None a sane one in the pack, and thank you, God, for that. They're normal, mind you, but they can get super crazy and I love it! I love it! I love it! I love people that don't have to be like everyone else, but they aren't jerks or weird to be original. They are just unapologetic about being the people God made them to be. I respect that. I like that. Be you. Do you. Let God tell you who you are and no one else. So cool.

5) I am thankful that despite my mismanagement of my body, God has given me relatively good health. By doing so, He's given me the opportunity to correct my bad behavior and become a better steward of my body. He has things for me to do, but if I'm not fit enough to do them, I'm pretty sure that's going to come up on Judgement Day. Just sayin'.

6) I am thankful for the house I live in, the van I drive, the food in the pantry and the cross-stitch in the tin. I am blessed beyond the curse for His promise will endure, that His joy is going to be my strength! Which leads us to...that's right...

7) I am thankful for my annoyingly optimistic Pollyanna world view. If I ruin your pity party with "The Bright Side" of the situation: I don't care. I just don't. Quit your belly achin'. Get up. Try again or try something else. If you need to unload, I have no problem with that. It's all the picking it back up and saying, "Look at that! Can you believe that?" That will make me all, "Yeah, that sucks. What are you going to do about it? How are you going to un-suckify that?" If you want a place to wallow, we don't do that here. You're going to leave unhappy.

My stuff might not be what your dreams are made of, but I'm glad God brought them my way. I'm thankful for every last little bitty thing I've got right this very minute because I'm not promised tomorrow. Neither are you.

Are you thankful?