Dear Lord,
I’m thankful. I really am. The list is endless and will be for all eternity. From the food on my table to grandchildren next to me on the church pew. My eyes well with gratefulness that you have blessed me with a supportive husband, a precious church family, and so much more. So much more . . .
Even for the less desirable blessings.
Lord, thank you for the times you told me “no” and hurt my feelings. Like the boy in high school that I vowed I was in love with, being fifteen years old. He knew nothing about you and later became addicted to drugs. You knew how things would end for me. Then, there was the career change and move to a new place that would have spelled disaster for me. You closed the doors and I brooded. But, today, I am so thankful, Lord.
Thank you, God, for the times of chastisement, when I was wrong and stubborn in my ways. Your love and mercy nudged me and gave me space to correct myself. You sanded off my rough edges by strategically placing people in my life whose sole purpose seemed to be just that: Polish that girl up a bit.
I’m even thankful, Father, for the hard days. When my mother died tragically and I was left stunned and reeling from the aftershocks. When my youngest son had cancer and I walked the floors of San Diego Children’s Hospital with a two-month-old daughter in my arms, quoting every Bible verse I knew because I couldn’t find the words to pray. Then, when my husband went through cancer and I had to go back to work while he suffered months of radiation and chemotherapy. Only for a second cancer to invade his body a few years later. Lord, I was weary of being the poster family for cancer, but, today, I am thankful. Oh, how I learned to love you in those moments more than ever before, God. I was wholly dependent on only you, and that – I can honestly say now – was painfully beautiful in its own way.
So, Lord, I have to say “thank you” for the uncommon blessings in my life that remind me of my imperfections, make me more sensitive to others, cause me to run to your open arms, and make me all the more humbly aware that there are probably many more blessings I may never even know about.
Love,
Regina
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