Thursday, November 23, 2017

Thankful for Three Things

A wise person once challenged me by asking, "What if you woke up tomorrow and only had the things you thanked God for today?" Hmm. Interesting to think about, right? I have considered that over the last year or so and nightly thanked God for everything I could think of: Bill, my family, his family, our pets, our home, our jobs, our vehicles, money, our possessions. Literally everything. I wanted to make sure if I really only woke up with what I had the nights before!

This week though, my thoughts have changed. Blame Facebook for this one! I love reading what others are thankful for, don't get me wrong, but shouldn't we be thankful for those things/people all year and let them know? I want to be let others know more often how grateful I am that they are in my life. I want to thank God for all I have and all I don't have. Still, I wanted to participate in the "What are you thankful for?" posts so I don't look like the one person not thankful for anyone or anything.

What am I truly thankful for? What could I not be okay with losing if God did take away all of the things I didn't thank Him for? Three things. Really! Only three things.

LOVE! It really does make the world go round. I love God, my husband, our families, our friends. I love books and food and alone time and forgiveness. I love that I love so much it hurts.

LAUGHTER! If I don't laugh every day, I feel awful and down on myself for not finding something funny or joyful. My students make me laugh often. Our puppy even more so! I laugh at myself too. It can bring me out of a funk and often makes others laugh with me. Laughter really is a great medicine.

LEARNING! I spend my summers and breaks reading and traveling and attending conferences that will hopefully make me a better wife, friend, teacher, and person than I was before. I learn about myself, my students, my husband, and my faith every day. Without learning, life would be boring.

So, what are three things you are thankful for? Three things that you couldn't live without?

Happy Thanksgiving!