Food, Family, Friends. Oh my!

Thanksgiving: one of my favorite holidays of the year for two simple reasons - food and family.

If you know me, you know that I am a total fatty. I LOVE food. I'm usually up to try anything, at any time. I don't like letting food go to waste. You're not gonna finish that ice cream? Pass it on over. When I'm in a new city, I always want to try something that I can't find anywhere else. Some call it adventurous (or weird - whatever); I like to think of it as advantageous. I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to eat something that I'll probably never find anywhere else.

My second reason is family. I have a HUGE family, and I love every one of them. I honestly could not imagine my life without my 4 siblings and their significant others and kids, my loving parents, and my incredibly large extended family. I mean, it's enormous: I have over 30 first and second cousins. And almost every Thanksgiving, the majority of us get together.

But that's not all that Thanksgiving is about. It's not about Black Friday sales either. How is it that literally one day after we talk about everything we're thankful for, we feel the need to go out and buy more stuff? But I digress.

No, to me, Thanksgiving is a reminder that we should be thankful year-round. Yes, it's an entire month devoted to remembering what you're thankful for, but I think it should be more than that. I think it should be a reminder to be thankful for every day, every opportunity, every blessing, and, yes, even every pitfall in life. Because this means you're still alive. It means God has granted you another day to be alive; another day with those you love; another day doing things that bring you joy; another day to relish in His glory; another day of just living.

Other than my love for food and my family, I feel it necessary to talk about other things I'm extremely thankful for, just to highlight where I currently am. I'm sure this list will update by next year, and hopefully grow longer.

As a friend of mine wrote in her blog, there are some things I'm truly thankful for, while there are others that I'm merely appreciative of. Yes, I stole that from you (because I know you're reading this, and you know who you are).

I had to sit and think on this for a while before I could determine everything I wanted to list. I don't want this blog post to get too long, but I want to highlight the things that are most important to me. So, let's do this:

1) My God. First and foremost, always and forever. He has stood by my side from the moment He began to piece me together in my mother's womb, and He will be there with me until my dying breath. Then I'll be with Him for all eternity. He has led me to people whom I would never have met otherwise, helping me develop friendships that I truly cherish. He has led me to do great things, and also to things others would think are controversial, but I know that He was right there with me. He has stood with me when I was on the mountaintop, and He sang praises over me; and He helped me traverse the valleys in life, when I was at my lowest, bringing me out the other side, as broken and bruised as I was. He has never given up on me, and I know He never will. When I turned away, He has always been waiting for me to return, arms stretched wide, preparing to give me the biggest bear-hug that I have ever received. He is my God, and I am His child. Forever, and always. And for that, I am truly thankful.

2) My best friend. I've already written about her once before, and she's going to hate me for writing about her again, but I believe if you're truly thankful for someone, you need to make sure they know. She and I have been through so much together. As I wrote previously, she has been my anchor in the storms of my life. She has helped me stay secure through everything I've been going through, not allowing me to drift away. Not only that, but she and I have the kind of friendship where we can literally talk about anything and I know she won't judge me for anything I say. Make fun of me? Most likely. Judge me? Definitely not. She has one of the kindest hearts I've ever had the privilege of getting know. Her love and passion for God, her job, missions and children are incredible. She literally lights up from the inside out when she's talking about anything she's passionate about, and that passion is so inspiring. She has seen me at my weakest and held my hand through it all, and she's seen me at my greatest and applauded my triumphs. In a world where everyone and everything is telling you who you are, it's incredibly rare to find someone who is genuine. But thankfully, that's exactly what my best friend is. She's one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring people I have ever met, and I hope she never thinks otherwise.

3) My career. I am in such amazement as to how my career has developed. I began college as a musical theatre major, and switched to Communication, simply because all my credits would have rolled over. I had absolutely no interest in going into Communication, but God had another plan. He knew where I needed to be, and He guided my steps. Now I work at an amazing news station, where I am the Director of Programming and the Digital Sales Coordinator. I also get to attend events, meet amazing people, and have the time of my life. I absolutely love the career that was practically created for me. Not many people can say they actually have a career in the field they went to school for, and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity that I do. I wake up each morning looking forward to work, simply because I love it so much! Sometimes it can get stressful or annoying, but that comes with any career/job.

4) My divorce. Now, this is a tough one to write about, because why in the world would I be thankful for my divorce? If you've read my very first blog post, you'll already know some of my reasoning. Because of my divorce, I was able to reconnect with my best friend, whom I had missed for so long. Because of my divorce, I dove into the church. My relationship with the One True Living God grew SO much because I desperately needed Him. He also led me to where my heart is the happiest: kids ministry. Without my divorce, I have no doubt that I'd have kept making excuses as to why I couldn't volunteer. And how stupid is that? But because of my divorce, I was able to put those excuses to rest, find where I fit in at the church, and devote my time and energy to those kids. Yes, I get to the church at 7:45am on Sundays and don't leave until 1pm, and I'm incredibly tired, but it's so worth it to see those kids grow deeper in their relationship with Christ. Because of my divorce (and this is probably the weirdest one, but hear me out), I moved back in with my parents. How is that a good thing, you ask? Because I had grown distant from my parents. But now that I was living with them again, we have bonded even closer than before. My dad and I have so many inside jokes, and watch movies, and talk TV shows, and discuss work; my mom and I cook and sing and clean and just act stupid together. Not only that, though. Because I moved back home, I was able to see my niece almost every day before she moved away; I was able to secure that relationship with her. I love that munchkin so much, and now I know that she won't forget that. Every time she visits, she asks for her "Airwin", and just hearing her voice brings joy to my life. I also see my nephew at least 3 times a week now, whereas before, I saw him maybe once a month. That boy and I are besties; if I'm having a rough day, it instantly gets better when I see that goofy-grin with drool slipping down his chin. I love that boy, and I make a point to let him know it. He visibly brightens when I walk in the room, and starts reaching for me, and I love seeing that kind of reaction from him. And I know that if I hadn't moved back home, I would have just been "my dad's brother" to him and to my niece. For all these reasons, I'm so thankful for my divorce, as weird as that sounds.

5) Lastly, kids ministry. As I have mentioned in a prior post, I am the lead teacher for 4th grade boys on Sundays, and the assistant teacher for 6th grade boys on Wednesdays. Those kids have stolen my heart. They drive me crazy, but they are my kids. They wear me out every Sunday and Wednesday, but I wouldn't give it up for the world. I love seeing their eyes brighten when we talk about God. I love seeing their eagerness to dive deeper into His word. I love seeing them dance around, singing as loud as they can, praising their Savior. It warms my heart every Sunday/Wednesday, and serves as a constant reminder that I need to keep a child-like faith. People who know me know that I refer to them as my kids, because that's what they are. Currently in my stage of life, I don't have the opportunity to have children - but, in actuality, I have between 12 and 15 children. And I love them each dearly, and am going to hate when they move out of my class. But that just means that I get a whole new bunch of kids that I get to nurture and grow and share Christ with, and that I get to adopt as my own.

I know this was a long post all about being thankful, and I feel it was necessary. If you read the entire thing, congratulations. I'd give you a cookie, except I can't bake. So... sorry.

But seriously, take this time to be with your family. Be thankful for everything you have. Be thankful for things that may seem like pitfalls. Be thankful for things that bring you joy, and even for things that bring you sorrow. Be thankful for friends. Be thankful for God and His guidance.

And don't hoard up all your thankfulness and only distribute it and show it to others during the Thanksgiving season. Make sure people know year-round how thankful you are of them, because they may not be here tomorrow. Be thankful for your job all the time, even if it's just as a buggie-gatherer, because at least you have a job. Be thankful for your trials, because sometimes we learn the most when we're flat on our face on the floor with no where else to go.

Just be thankful for every day you have, no matter what happens, because we're not guaranteed another.