Toady is THANKSGIVING DAY in the UNITED STATES and I am Thankful for ALL MY MANY BLESSINGS.
I am humbled and grateful for so many things. It took more than a moment this morning to reflect on my life journey thus far. At my age, reflection over 60 plus years can take a while. So many years have passed, so many Thanksgiving Days have come and gone.
2020 has brought a much different Thanksgiving to some. There are those isolated from loved ones and the joy and love of family and friends can only be via zoom, skype or just a memory of years past. For that I am sorry.
As for me, I am extremely blessed. Here in Florida, we are not locked down and I am enjoying 80 degree weather and sunshine with four close friends.
This morning I took some time for reflection before I began the days activities. I sat remembering all the different places, faces, feelings, homes, ages and Thanksgiving meals from the time I was young until now. WOW! I have truly been Blessed.
It’s been an amazing adventure – a roller coaster of good, bad and some really ugly times, but all of it has made me into the person I am today and for that I am extremely grateful.
My past has led me to the present and the future has no bounds. I am so thankful for my life and all the pieces of it, even the parts I wish I could forget. God has taken all of the threads of it, not wasting an inch, and has used my simple life as part of His gigantic Masterpiece. I am grateful and honored to be part of it. I pray He continues to use me to Glorify His Holy Name.
Today, I am especially Grateful for my SALVATION.
I am a sinner that does not deserve what God has done for me. He has saved me from myself, the world and all the evil within it. Sin has no hold on me because of the love and mercy of God. He has given me PEACE knowing that He is with me always. He knows, sees and hears everything and has my back. He is my COMFORTER, my JOY, my ADVISOR, my DEFENDER, my REFUGE and my STRENGTH.
THANK YOU LORD.
I am Thankful that God has HEALED the many WOUNDS I have aquired and carried most of my life. MY LORD was there through all of it and carried my tears, my shame, my self loathing and all the broken pieces of my life until I was ready to face the monsters and giants that haunted me and taught me how to forgive each one that I faced. It was learning forgiveness that broke the chains that held me in my past.
He also brought so MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE into my life over the years that helped pull me to the crest of the mountains I faced and carried me through the many valleys and canyons as well. FOR THIS AND SO MUCH MORE – THANK YOU LORD.
I am Thankful that God still LISTENS to me. I have never worn out my welcome when I have fallen on my knees before Him. He never tires of me when I grovel, moan, complain and plead. He has ANSWERED MORE PRAYERS THAN I CAN COUNT and for that I am grateful.
I am forever in God’s debt for giving me my FAMILY; my amazing SONS, my beautiful DAUGHTER n LAWS and especially my seven precious GRANDCHILDREN, who are my inspiration, my joy and a reminder of God’s love every time I look at them. I am also forever grateful that He helped me find MY BIRTH FAMILY, my BOTHER and SISTER, and new MOM and DAD after a 46 year search. I found them in God’s perfect timing. Finding them was like the grand finale and the icing on the cake. Thank you God for such an amazing gift.
I am also grateful for all the FRIENDS I have had in my life, including all of you, who are like jewels in a treasure chest, more precious than all of the material things that God has blessed me with over my lifetime. You have each played a part in my life. You have been God’s hands to teach and guide me, His voice of wisdom and consolation when I needed direction, His arms that lifted me from moments of despair; arms that held me when I simply needed to be held without question or reservation. You have been His shoulder to carry me when I had no strength to take another step, His smile and laughter when I needed it most and His encouragement to keep going or to stop and allow God to be God. THANK YOU.
I need to Thank God for all of my four legged children that I’ve been blessed with over the years. Do you have any?
They never cared when I looked my worst. They were always there for me with love and companionship, laid with me when I was sick, waited for me patiently to come home and always greeted me at the door like I was the best thing ever.
My last dog, ANNIE, even laid across my legs to protect me as I sat on the basement floor under the staircase as a tornado hit my house. She was my protector and confidant – my best friend, especially after my husband died. For all of my puppies and cats, chickens horses and ducks and especially for ANNIE…THANK YOU LORD
Finally for my sweet HUSBAND who now sits with Our Lord and watches over me. I am forever grateful for the SWEET SEASON THAT WE SHARED, for the laughter, the dancing, the shared sunsets, the long walks, the sharing and the loving. God knew what He was doing when He sent this man to me 7 years after an abusive marriage. I had a picture in my head as to who would be the next person that I would trust to share my life after my divorce. God knew better. He sent me Ron.
There are no words that I can find to express how grateful I am for the time God gave us together. I will treasure Ron and all the many memories close to my heart. Thank You God for knowing what was best for me. I also thank you for all the other wonderful men that you have woven in and out of my life as friends and confidants and those that were much more than friends, surrogate fathers, handymen, Pastors and even my sons and grandson. THANK YOU for each and every one of them.
MOSTLY I WANT TO THANK YOU GOD – FOR BEING GOD OF MY LIFE, FOR WATCHING OVER ME AND LOVING ME even though I don’t often deserve it. Thank you for sacrificing YOUR SON for my sake and in my stead just because you love me and couldn’t stand the thought of Heaven without me.
THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING.
MAY YOUR DAY OF THANKSGIVING and every day BE FILLED WITH HAPPINESS, GOOD HEALTH AND A THANKFUL HEART FOR ALL YOUR MANY BLESSINGS.
What are you grateful for today? Have you told HIM? I’m sure He’d love to hear from you and so would I.
Peace and many, many Blessings to you and your family, VICTORIA
Believing Outside the Box 