Last holiday season was the best I’ve ever had.
It came with all its normal joys, exhaustion, and surprises as we welcomed scads of family and friends throughout the fun-filled days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There were the normal highs and lows. We were still renting our home and waiting to see where we’d finally land. Life still felt in-between. The place we lived in was tenuous.
But the place my heart was in is what made all the difference.
For thirty days leading up to Thanksgiving I’d given thanks. Thanks on steroids!
Here’s why.
I challenged myself and anyone who might like to join me to countdown to the holidays by giving thanks every day . . thanks for one thing the first day, two the second, three the third, all the way to giving thanks for thirty things on the thirtieth day.
It wasn’t easy.
But it was life changing.
By the time it got here, I was a pro at Thanks-giving!
Even more, I was acutely aware of how blessed I am. Giving thanks opened my eyes to all the small and large gifts God sends me every single day.
I’ve looked forward for months to counting thanks here again this year. I even figured out how to make a button to celebrate it (no small feat for my uber un-techy mind)!
But yesterday, the day before the gun would crack and I’d start my marathon of thanks, I felt like going home and pulling the covers over my head.
I won’t go into why. It’s not relevant. It’s just life and the way it doesn’t seem to like to always play out according to my agenda.
I’ve written before about being a cracked pot and the beauty in it, but yesterday I just felt cracked. The beauty didn’t seem so, and I was holding on to faith with white knuckles.
Faith in what I couldn’t see.
Faith in the truth that His ways that are higher than mine.
Faith in the belief that every day (including bad ones) has its purpose.
And I murmured thanks. It was hard. It didn’t jive with my emotions, but it was true.
And somewhere along the way, my heart turned, the clouds cleared, and I saw the blessings.
I’m learning that giving thanks is the doorway to enjoying that thing for which we are thankful.
I live in a room FULL of doors, and I suspect you do too.
So I hope you’ll RSVP yes, to my invitation and join me. I can’t wait to hear how giving thanks changes you!
You can count with me by commenting below or on the Winsome Woman Facebook page.
So here goes. Drumroll . . . (yes, it deserves a drumroll. We’ll count all the way to 465 by day thirty!)
Thank you, God, for . .
1. my blog and the way it lets me encourage and connect to friends
(This is the infamous button . . not bad, huh?)
Kim, I am thankful to have known you and call you my friend. I really miss you. I am glad I can feel connected to you by reading your blog. I miss hearing your sweet soft voice.
I will never forget the story of Jeff coming home late at night while you were laughing at a scene in the movie "Room With a View"!
While reading your blog, sometimes I am surprised to read of your feelings and realize I am not alone in some of the struggles I go through. Thank you for "being there" for me and other women as we live each moment that God gives us. Love you Kim, Pam Gartman