I am Thankful for....

One thing I have learned during the adventure I call my life and continue to remind myself of during the incarceration is of the things I have to be thankful for.  Two years ago when everything around me seemed so bleak and dark I would have never believed that I would be sitting here with a never ending list of things to be thankful for.  The added benefit for me, is that I am aware of what I am thankful for everyday, not just during the holiday season.

I am thankful for the gift of gratitude that I have been able to experience and learn.  Very few people will every experience it in a way that is life changing and moving.  I would have never believed that experiencing gratitude would be such a gift and bring such joy to my life.

I am thankful for the wonderful friends who have supported me since the beginning and have now cemented themselves in my life.  They are considered family more than friends.

I am thankful for the new friends that I have made since this life changing event.  We were brought together by a common circumstance, without which we may have never met each other.  They have become just as important to me as those people I used to consider my friends until they showed their true colors and walked away when I needed them most.  My new friends demonstrate the character traits that are role models for us all.  God showed me the errors of my old thinking and judgment when the old friends showed their true character. 

I am thankful for the extended family that has stood by me and been a source of joy and happiness.  They have been a shoulder to cry on occasionally, but I believe that they are my comedy relief.  They give me the moments of laughter that make me realize that life has not ended and things will be better. 

I am thankful to a co-worker who has consistently helped keep my head above water financially.  Although I am getting better handling things on my own, he has stood been there to offer an extra dollar when necessary.  Again this year for Christmas, he made sure I had extra money to get the kids some really nice Christmas gifts.  I can only say thank you and will probably never repay him, but he does not expect to get repaid, that is why it is so special.  I can only hope to repay the kindness to others in the future by paying it forward.

I am thankful that I have three healthy, beautiful and intelligent children, who barring the solid upbringing and years of a solid family background, might not have survived as well as they have.  It is a testament to their family strength and their own strength of character that they continue to thrive and become great individuals.

I am thankful for my faith and for the strength that I draw from knowing that God has a plan.  I may not know His plan for us all but I am prayerful and obedient in the steps I take to fulfill it. 

I am thankful for the Hope that comes with each passing day.  Each morning that I wake up is another day closer to finding us a family again.  Each day is an opportunity to be a role model to others and to find joy in the small things that I used to take for granted.  Hope that sometime in the future we will have moved beyond all the tragedy and can look to the beauty of the world ahead.

I am thankful for a husband who is working hard to do everything he can to come home as quickly as he can.  He is working to change his life and his thinking for the better of all of us.  He has so much more good in him to offer to the world, that I am willing to wait and see him soar.

I could go on with more but these are the most important ones and I challenge you all to really look at your lives a decide what are you really thankful for.  I keep a notebook with a list of those things, events and people that have touched our lives in a special way so that I can occasionally look back and offer a prayer of thanks.