So on this Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for rain.  For shelter from the rain. I’m thankful for the way the rain just washes and cleanses and renews.  I’m thankful for the vibrant colors that have come this week after the rain, and for the beauty of mid-70s weather and sunshine that lured me down to the river’s edge after school. I’m thankful for the beauty of the rush of the water that the pouring rains brought, and for so many sweet memories of walking this trail with those I love.

I’m thankful for anticipation.  Anticipation of projects completed and deadlines met.  Anticipation of seeing those I love very soon after not seeing them for a while. I’m also thankful for the anticipation that my kids are sharing for seeing each other.  I’m thankful for surfboards and fishing rods and healthy bodies and minds to use them. I’m thankful for anticipation of the next big wave and the next big fish, but also for the moments that will be shared in the waiting…because those waves and fish might not come, but the time spent with brothers pursuing them will be time well spent and long remembered.   I’m thankful for business prospects and leaps of faith taken, and tiny rewards that say, “keep going”.  I’m thankful for anticipation of the way those little leaps can lead to bigger leaps and hopefully bless other people.  I’m thankful for the encouragement from my adult kids who saw those big leaps and little rewards and focus on the rewards and say, “Way to go,  Mom!  Congrats!”

I’m thankful for afternoon drives and amazing sunsets and wisps of color in prism rainbows that looked like brushstrokes in the sky.  I’m thankful for warm afternoons and brisk nights, and for the sweaters that are ready to be used after a long season of being in the closet.  I’m thankful for the son who says, “Yeah…” when I ask if he wants to come with me to run errands.  I’m also thankful that we can come to common ground in choosing radio stations when our tastes are a bit different these days. I’m thankful that he loves to sing.  Loves it.  And I love to hear it even though probably not many other people appreciate the “art” we create.

I’m thankful for teacher – parent conferences where I sit on the teacher side and see whole new glimpses of how to reach the kids who seem out of reach, and for parents who are willing to share their stories in order to help their children to do their best. I’m thankful for teamwork. I’m thankful for parent teacher conferences where I’m on the parent side and I can learn from a teacher who has a whole different window into my child who I feel I know so well.  There’s always more to learn.

I’m thankful for the Word of God that speaks to our needs so clearly.  I’m thankful for worship, for time well spent with dear friends on rainy days eating coconut dark chocolate ice cream and being so very thankful to share thoughts, prayer requests, and deep needs. Only God can meet some of those needs, but I am so thankful to have friends who will pray and bring each other’s needs and our children’s needs, to the throne of grace.  Yes, to BOLDLy bring those needs to the throne of grace in prayer.

I’m thankful for football games and the show THE OFFICE, and things that make my family horse laugh.  I’m thankful for efforts made born out of struggles.  To know our need is a gift, a total gift. Needing help is part of the human condition.  Needing grace, help, direction…we all have times of need.  I’m thankful for when my children see a need and seek out help, because we are not alone, and I never want pride or the false belief that we have to do everything on our own, to alienate them from others.  We all need each other. Period. But knowing that?  Living that?  That is a gift.  It makes us seek connection….

I’m thankful that tomorrow is Friday.  For meetings held, decisions made.  I’m thankful for conversation and Biblical hope and peace that passes understanding. I’m thankful for addictions overcome and hope renewed, for the acknowledgement of voids, and the pursuit to fill voids with good things.  I’m thankful for hunger. And chicken soup.  And Ghiradelli dark chocolate.

I’m thankful for the Body of Christ…people seeking God and pressing on to know Him more.  I’m thankful for worship, for music, for the gift of song that keeps us all on the same page for brief moments. I’m thankful that we’re all in this together, and for times when our needs make that so incredibly apparent.  And then…I’m thankful for needs met on all levels. I’m thankful for people who actually read these posts till the end because I know I’m really rambling.  But hopefully in the midst of all the rambling, there can be a connection, a truth, a tidbit we share.  And if there is…I really am thankful because this life is all about connection.  Bottom line, that’s what it’s all about.  Vertical connection.  Horizontal connection.

Blessings ~

Heather

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

Hebrews 10:22

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