Giving Thanks Friday, unplugged
If you have visited here before you may have read the about me section where I end with
"I strive to find beauty in the ordinary and blessing in the extraordinary" and that is how I truly try to live my life. But what happens when the ordinary becomes strife-filled and the extraordinary finds you living in circumstances made for a Lifetime movie? You grab every last shred of the Hope that Jesus is and you give thanks...most every Friday...for a year even.
This being thankful has prompted me to take my focus off circumstances I have no control over and caused my heart to fill with gratefulness, to let the grace shown me seep out. It hasn't been an easy process, with many Friday's finding me struggling for just one thing to be thankful for. But finding just one thing would lead to one more and one more and soon I really was thankful despite the circumstances surrounding us.
Like many families, this past couple of years has found ours filled with milestones and memories, laughter and tears, roof top shouting joys and agonizing struggles. We have burried loved ones, grieved over illness, agonized over addiction, gasped at the judges verdict. We have cried hard, hot tears, prayed and pleaded for lives saved and lives changed. We have spent countless hours in nursing homes, hospitals and courtrooms.
I found myself dreading the telephone ring because it was never good news, not even normal news. Images of fictional television programs flashed into our reality and the "how do the writers come up with this stuff" suddenly made me realize that for many this is not fiction but life.
We have learned we truly cannot do it, this life, on our own. We need each other. We need a Savior. We need Hope. So we have dug deep and fought hard and let go and leaned in and found our faith rise. And we were thankful. We are thankful. I am thankful.
So, as long as this blog journey continues, you will find me here most Friday's (as well as some posts in between) finding things, big and small, to be thankful for. I am so grateful for the times you have joined me here, for reading my thanks and especially for sharing your own. You will never know the blessing it has been to read your comments of thankfulness.
What are you thankful for this week?
May your weekend be filled with many reasons to give thanks!
(Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: his love endures forever. Psalm 118:1)
Tags:
Giving Thanks
12 comments
I am thankful for a fresh blanket of snow to cover winter's drab coat, for a husband who truly cherishes me, for two grown, independent, loving children and three beautiful, smart, and huggable grandchildren. I could go on and on and on. . .
ReplyDeleteGreat things to be thankful for Pam!
DeleteMindy,
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for YOU! I have missed your words and wit and heart. So glad to have this post to read, it's like we are catching up at the table over coffee. :)
Right back to you Ms. Karmen! I appreciate you more than you know.
DeleteOh Mindy, what a precious post! I am with Karmen - I am thankful for YOU! You are a true blessing and sweet encouragement. Hugs to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your continued encouragement Stephanie.
DeleteI love this post, Mindy. So often we put on our best face (in real life and in blogland) and are reluctant to let others know the struggles/crisis we are facing. But when we do, we realize that we're all the same. We're all experiencing situations that are stressful, exhausting and sometimes shocking. It's so good to share that with others and to feel the support from friends and family. If we can continue to find gratitude for the small things in life while the big things sometimes hammer us on the head, I have a feeling we'll all come out ok, lol.
ReplyDeleteThank you, my friend, for touching us the way you do each week.
Thanks so much Robyn...
DeleteHugs to you, dear one! Thank you for showing us how to be thankful when times are hard, impossible. We just never know what is happening in another person's life, do we. I heard a well-known pastor say that we are either coming out of a problem, in the middle of a problem, or getting ready to have a problem. That is just life. But we have a Savior and hope for the future. I keep telling myself..."This World is not my home......" x0x0
ReplyDeleteSusan, after going through many trials I am so much more aware of people struggling (and you are so right we are all there, have came from there or are about to go there) and am open to helping - a classic case of things being meant for evil but God bringing good out of them. Our temporary home indeed...
DeleteHi Mindy! What a year. Yikes! But here you are, still standing, strong as ever. That's one of the things I really love about you Mindy. You have crosses, but your faith stands strong and shining in the dark. You are such a model for me, and I hope you will never stop being thankful on Fridays. Or any other day either. You just don't know how you inspire. You do!
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you my good friend,
Ceil
You are the sweetest Ceil - blessings to you as well!
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