1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
At this special time of year I want to take a few minutes to reflect and offer thanks to all who have crossed my path this past year and touched my life. There is no way to name you all I won?t even try. But I do want to list a few people and things that I am especially thankful for:
I am first and foremost thankful to my God who sent His son to earth as a wee babe, knowing the pain and suffering this small child would experience as a grown man so that we all may one day live in heaven in the presence of the All Mighty with no pain, cares or worries.
I am thankful that Jesus was willing to die on a wooden cross, experiencing more agony than we could humanly imagine just to save a sorry soul like me. Jesus shed his life-blood, it seeped from his torn and beaten body and spread over the cross covering every sin I have committed and will ever commit. If Jesus was willing to suffer so that all who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life, shouldn?t we thank Him every minute of every day and praise His Holy Name in all things?
I am thankful that God spoke the words into all those men who penned the Bible. That blessed book has been my road map through many curvy, and mountainous trips through life. The Bible has the answer to any question I might have. All I have to do is open the cover, seek, and believe.
I am thankful for Jerry, my husband of 37 years. We have walked through the fire together and survived with only a few singes. Sometimes we have gone in different directions but we?ve always found our way home to each other. I heard a lady the other day say, ?If I could only do my life over.? Well, not me. I really wouldn?t change a thing, because if I did I would not be where I am today and have the people that I have around me. I have a blessed peace that can only come from being satisfied with wherever life has taken me.
I am thankful for my daughter, Wendy. Oh my goodness, when I first looked into her eyes I was scared to death. I didn?t have a clue how I was going to take care of her. But all I really had to do was love her, and change a few diapers and feed her. Loving Wendy has always been easy. She has a precious spirit and gentle soul? that is until you rile her. I am so proud of the woman she has become. Her walk in life has not always been easy, but she has been strong and fearless. I am also so very thankful that Wendy has Marty in her life. Nothing makes a mother happier than to see her child happy.
I am so thankful that God blessed Wendy with a child, my granddaughter, Emma. There are no words to describe the love I have for this little angel. We are buddies. I love spending time with her and thankfully she enjoys being with me. The past 9 years have flown by, and Emma is growing up way too fast. She is a beautiful young lady, not only on the outside, but inside too where it really counts. Emma has also had disappointments in her few years, but like her mother she is strong, and courageous.
I am thankful for my sister, Gail, my brothers, Steve and Scott and all their spouses and children. I have some really awesome nieces, nephews, a few great cousins, and my uncles are very special to me too. I don?t spend as much time with them as I would like, but they are all in my heart. We have memories that will last a lifetime. They?re not all good, but they?ve made us the people we are today. I am also very thankful for Jerry?s brothers and their wives and children. They are as much a part of me as my own blood kin.
I am truly thankful for my special friends, you know who you are. You touch my heart with your kindness toward me and I am blessed to have each one of you in my life. I am also so thankful for my church, Pleasant Ridge Baptist and our new minister, Mitch Smith, our Associate Pastor Jason Lawson, their families, and the extended family that I have there.
I am thankful for my eight-year-old iMac that is still working, for my ten-year-old Nissan Sentra that still gets me where I need to go, and for my camper on the New River. I am blessed with a cozy little house with a wood heater in the basement, and I?m also thankful for the wonderful neighbors that surround my home. A good neighbor is a priceless thing to have.
I am so, so very thankful that I, and my family are healthy. And I am thankful for those care givers who help keep us this way, Dr. Al and all the other medical and office staff at Elkin Pediatric and Adult Medicine, Dr. Jim Harrell Jr. and staff, Dr. Stephen Harrell and staff, and Dr. Gilreath and his staff, without whom my back would be in bad shape. If we have good health we should not complain about anything.
I could go on and on about all the many blessings that I am thankful for. My warm bed, watching Christmas movies with my granddaughter, my cats, Pumpkin, Charcoal, Snowball, who we sometimes call Ding-A-Ling, and Little Brother, my camera, my husband?s old ?70 model Massey Ferguson tractor, homegrown potato?s and canned green beans, country music, good books to read, electricity, running water, hot water, internet, my cell phone, stretchy pants, toilet paper, and my old lavender sweater that reminds me of my Aunt Lafayette.
Lastly, I am thankful for all my family and friends who have gone to be with the Lord. My daddy and mama, Jerry?s parents, grandma?s and grandpa?s, aunts and uncles. They may not be with me in body, but their spirit hovers around me always. My memories of them guarantee me I will never be without them.
May God bless you all, and please don?t leave Jesus out of your ?Christ?mas celebrations.
(I probably will not have another blog until after the first of the year. My granddaughter, Emma will be out of school and we?ve got grandma and granddaughter things to do. Happy New Year!)
