I am Thankful for our beautiful family. My children who have made me grow and will continue to do so until I die. I am thankful for my husband who makes me grow and has been willing to grow so much himself. I am thankful for a marriage that makes God the center of it, for children who know that God's perfect love is enough but who seem to let us attempt that level just the same, who let us kiss their boo-boo's, hold their hands, snuggle in bed with them, tickle them, read to them, discipline them, correct them, train them, and make mistakes with them. They seem to love us anyway. I am thankful for that.
I am thankful for parents who try. Parents who try to be better, try to change all the time. Parents who are unwilling to say, "what you see is what you get". Instead, they say "how can I be better?" Parents of crying infants, tantruming toddlers, inquisitive children, angry teenagers, and independent adults. I am thankful for all you parents who try, who stretch yourselves over and over again. I am thankful for my parents. I am thankful for Steve's parents. I am thankful for their parents.
I am thankful to the most forgiving Lord that I get the pleasure to love and ask for help every day. I am thankful for His guidance, His wisdom, His providence, His leadership, and His strength. I am thankful to His beautiful Mother for being the perfect example of what it means to just shut up and say "yes". Of what it means to be a wife who is willing to be supportive and get on the back of a donkey when she's NINE MONTHS pregnant and ride in the freezing cold for hours because she was just willing to trust. I am thankful for the example and the self sacrifice for a greater good.
I am thankful for food in the kitchen, a warm bed, clothing for my children, education, animals, trees, transportation, and the magic of the holidays and the miracles of christmastime.
I am also thankful for a certain political party who, it has just come to my attention, give four times as much as their opponents. They give four times more money, more time, and more donations. They even give more blood. Thank you, fellow Americans. I am thankful for democracy.
I am thankful for today. Today is one more day I get to spend loving my children and Steve with an imperfect love, but an intense love nonetheless. One more day I get to wake up and look at sunshine, feel excitement, joy, anxiety, and exhaustion. All are feelings which I don't take for granted because they mean I am alive and I am apart of something greater than me.
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11 comments:
Again, you've brought tears to my eyes. This was so beautiful.
Happy Thanksgiving, Nicole!
Ooops! Sorry, I didn't realize Darren was still logged in to blogger. I am actually the one who left that last comment!
Really lovely. Thanks for posting!
You write so beautifully, so descriptively. I am thankful for you.
We are so lucky with the blessings in our lives. I count you as one of them.
This is a question from a person who is ignorant in general about politics (intentionally). So please just shoot me down if it is called for. I really don't like controversy. But, does the political party that you are referring to have 4 times more money to give??? I'm just curious. One political party tends to draw the wealthy, the other tends to draw the poor.
xoxo
Pardon me, Nicole...
Christy, according to this article, conservatives give more volunteer TIME and donated blood too.
"The data are adjusted for variables such as age, gender, race and income to draw fine-point conclusions."
Bottom-line: attitude. Liberals want "something to be done" (by somebody else - nameless faceless big brother). Conservatives just do it.
I knew someone would be willing to give me the data. :) It was adjusted for variables...WOW.
This difference in giving, do you think this is a God/spiritual/church thing?? Would it be the same for non church going conservatives?? I can't quit thinking about it...
Great question, Christy.
I did know that the study was adjusted for all those variables, and I am assuming it was adjusted for religious affiliation as well. Michele? Steve? Do you know?
Michelle, how awesome to have you reply. :)
I hope you all had an amazing Thankgiving and I consider you all blessings in my life as well.
What a wonderful message on being thankful. It is so nice to hear you speak so loveingly of your parents. They raised a bright,smart, beautiful and loving young lady...You make us all want to be better people. I'm greatful to have you in my life.
Michelle, thanks for the link to the article. Has anyone actually read this book? Sounds like it may be interesting. Just to throw this into the mix...any one that has ever taken a statistics course knows that numbers can say anything that you want them to say. It's all about creating the right variables and how you slice the pie. So, without digging into his methodology, it is impossible to know how accurate his data is. The other question is "who financed his research". It is amazing how much (even unintentionally) that can effect the results. I can understand someone wanting to believe that his research is right, but take it with a grain of salt. The thing to focus on here is that people care enough to make the donations. I don't care if they are liberal or conservative. I care that people are getting the help that they need. So, here's to charitable donations going to people and organizations in need and to a country that allows liberals and conservatives to freely voice their opinions.
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