on lessons + thankfulness...

It has been a day of good people, good laughs, good food, and remembering a good God. Holidays are hard for me (and a lot of other people), and I am beyond thankful that each year it gets a little bit better, more normal, more lighter. 

Ruth Simons over at GraceLaced wrote an amazing piece on thankfulness today; the truth of her words sank so deep into my heart places.
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"Have you ever considered… every blessing we give thanks for seems to have an equally tender lesson in trust, loss, hope and sanctification as its context? The way of thanks is paved with a million little moments of doubt, fear, or thanklessness, but we often forget that it's so…" 

- Ruth Simons

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The things I am most thankful for this year are the things that have stretched my relationship with God the most; the most precious things have been given to us to continue to prove His faithfulness, His goodness, His sovereignty. From my (new) job, my ministry, my friends who have become family, my singleness (this ebbs and flows, but today I choose to be thankful), and my writing… Growth and stretching has been great in these areas, but they are the things I am most grateful for because they are the places where God has made Himself most evident. Lessons in the hard things are what God leverages to grant us the good things; gratitude is gleaned from the lessons.

I pray that my thankfulness permeates my whole year, not just my one day; I want to be a faithful thanker, walking in light of the blessings I have undeservedly been given always.