Still Exercising Thankfulness

I'm still trying to walk in Thankfulness this week. I wasn't blogging last week, so I didn't have a chance to share what I'm so incredibly thankful for this year.

1. I'm thankful for a God who loves me. Even when I'm unlovable. Even when I'm struggling to trust Him. Even when I fail to bring glory to His name. He still loves me.

2. I'm thankful for a husband who is a Mighty Man of God. The testimony of his life is truly a reflection of the power God has to take a broken vessel and make it whole. The choice he made to surrender and relinquish control. To receive the love and life God had waiting for him. It is reflected in the love he lavishes on me, the dedication he shows in raising our children, and the sparkle in his eyes.

3. I'm thankful for five beautiful children. God has truly blessed me. Their individuality, their unity, their joy, their tender hearts. They remind me each and every day that God alone is able to supply what I need to be their mom. Their simple, yet profound view of God exemplifies why Jesus said "let the children come." They really get it. I need a heart like that.

4. I'm thankful that God has done miracles for our family. Real miracles.

In my marriage. Those dreadful days when I didn't know if we'd make it, He gave me hope in a hopeless place and He turned things around. Truly beauty for ashes. It would have been 'easy' to walk away, but oh, what we would have missed.

In my children: The doctors told us Avery would always be sick, she wouldn't be able to do the things normal kids do. God healed her. He turned those blood tests around. She's joyful and energetic; she's healthy!

All those ultrasounds with Aiden. The worry, the fear, the unknown. Would he make it? That boy came out screaming! There was oxygen in his lungs! A gifted team of medical doctors and, this past summer, a clean bill of health. Most of the time I wish he wouldn't scream so much, but I'm so thankful he can!

Sigourney's seizures. The trauma of watching a child struggle with breath. I will never forget the sight of her limp body, her blue lips, her erratic movements. The medication wouldn't work. We had to release her to the airlift team and let her go. I thought God was going to take her. Today, she's mimicking the sounds of her siblings, she's running around trying to keep up with them, she makes us all stop and laugh!!!

I'm so guilty of taking life for granted. Of taking God for granted. I have so much to be thankful for. Oh, it may not be a big showy house, an enviable wardrobe, a fancy car, or public acclaim. But I have what's really important: life, love, and eternal security.

My thankfulness needs to be more than just talk. It needs to radiate from the abundance in my heart. It needs to be so deep and so real that I don't forget about it when life gets hard. I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it. I'm praying for it. And it will come.