As you know I look forward to Thanksgiving each year. Yes for the delicious food. Yes for the beginning of holiday. But the best is hearing what family is thankful for. It's a standing tradition on my dad's side and someone never fails to bring on my waterworks. This year my youngest cousin's girlfriend brought down the house.
There are plenty of things I am thankful for. But it is not the things that I am thankful for this year, but the people. Allow me a moment to digress.
The obvious, my daughter. She is the center of my world and a joy for me to watch grow into a little person. She is beautiful and a beacon of everything that is right in the world.
My in-laws. You know, in-laws are a tricky thing. Most people have tension with theirs and rarely does the relationship work. Here's the thing, I have the best in-laws. They are involved in so much of our lives and to say they support us in all ways would be an insufficient explanation. They are the reason we have a safe car for the little. They saw us through the first six weeks of the baby's life. They take days off of work for us, cook for us, have moved us 5x in 3 years, give to us, share with us, text with us, visit us, and share in the joy of the baby's growth with us. They are forgiving and not intrusive. They are present and yet not overbearing. There is no expectation there. I do not feel judged by them but on the contrary am accepted and loved. They are everything a daughter in law could have hoped for. And they are everything a grandchild could possibly wish for in a grandparent.
My sister - who is my armor bearer.
My husband. Josh is someone who would sacrifice in the big moment. I know this because he sacrifices in the small moments everyday. He is that man, that husband, that father.
The person I am most thankful for this year (and whom I shared about at Thanksgiving), my mom. My mom and I have a rocky history. It has not been the kind where I ran away from home because she beat me or anything extreme like that. I mean to say that our relationship isn't a reality show or the kind that would grace the cover of Page6. But we have had our years of tension and times of seemingly not being on the same page. This year her and I have turned a corner. The baby has brought us to a remarkable place. I have become gentler with her. She has become even keeled with me. We share. We laugh. We text. We actually like to be with each other. It is only by God's redeeming power. He has redeemed us.
There are many more people I am thankful for. The list is too long for a simple blog post. Our little family has many warriors at the ready. People willing to fight for us and pray for us. And do we deserve this? No, of course not. Not even close.
God is good and gracious. All knowing, all powerful. He is love. He is the beginning and the end. Bless the Lord oh my soul, bless the Lord.
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