Brokenness and Blessings...

Wow...it's been a long while since I posted, and time certainly gets away from you when you're busy, busy, busy...the story of everyone's life these days!! The post that has been on my heart lately though has been to blog about a recent adulthood revelation. This is going to sound so silly and so totally obvious to everyone, but I feel like my adult life has been a series of revelations that have come as thought processes over days and weeks and that finally STICK within my being. The first came in my twenties when I discovered that even though people could be great individuals and true friends, there were a great many people who just could not be counted on to get things done. It was truly a revelation to me that the majority of "things" in life get done by a very few people. Of course this is a blanket statement, but I guess it was really a disappointment to me that not everyone had been raised with the work ethic of responsibility that I had. Anyway...another revelation has come to me in my thirties...I guess I have always kind of held the belief that some people had it soooooooooo good. Don't get me wrong, I am truly blessed (we'll get to that in a moment), but there always seems to be that "grass is greener" mentality going on. Well, the revelation, no drum roll please, that has come to me in the last several weeks has been this...we are all broken. Everyone, yes, everyone, has some broken place in them that they must deal with. I know, I know, again it seems like a "duh" kinda statement, but it's really resounded with me lately. In our society, during this time, on the news, in our world, etc., etc. we are bombarded with stories of brokenness. And yes, in my own life there are some issues that I am dealing with, but I guess it just really HIT me, that everyone has their "broken" pieces to deal with in this life. The Christian song, "People Need the Lord" comes to mind over and over..."everyday they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes..." the need and the hurt and the worry of so many. No one is exempt, the wealthy, the poor, the healthy, the challenged, they all have brokenness. Which brings me to my NEXT point...

It's almost Thanksgiving...and I can truly say that while Christmas is a great holiday and time for family and friends and fellowship, my favorite holiday has to be Thanksgiving. It can be a stressful time of year, cold weather, sickness, worries about Christmas spending, but it can also be such a wonderful time to STOP, BE STILL and think of ALL the blessings. God is sooooooo very good to us. Not just me on a personal level, which is certainly true, but to all of us, as Americans who live in a free country and one with so many blessings and so much wealth (that's a whole separate post!!). Blessings from God are all around us and it makes it almost impossible to worry when you think of all you've been given. The brokenness we all experience on so many different levels can be "fixed"...maybe not back the way it was (i.e. the white vase from "Bring the Rain" blog link found here...) but God can help you find ways to cope - to see the blessings in your life and in your situation. I know I am not doing justice to the way I feel, but the two concepts - brokenness and blessings - can go together...maybe brokenness makes the blessings more apparent. Anyway - this Thanksgiving I hope that if YOU, dear friends, have brokenness in YOUR life, that it has been healed or is being healed, now and in the time to come, and I pray for blessings for you and yours...to be revealed and recognized.

Just a footnote of a few things that I am truly thankful for this Thanksgiving...and TAG to anyone reading this to post yours (this is what we do around my family Thanksgiving table - and it's never without a few tears!).

10 things I'M THANKFUL FOR...
1. the Creator of nature's beauty and for eyes to behold the color and wonder of it all.
2. the man I love and his friendship, counsel and undying love
3. the parents who have always so unselfishly loved and provided for me, and who taught me compassion and kindness...and for all the other family that have been so influential in my life
4. the beautiful, healthy children that God so richly blessed us with and the daily lessons learned from them
5. the friends (angels) that God has always put into the paths of my life and who have always been a source of strength, love, and understanding
6. the job that God has provided for me, not only as a source of income, but as an area of confidence, pride and testimony
7. the material things...a place to live, clothes to wear, a car to drive, food to eat (I'm especially thankful for this one!), coffee and tea to drink and so many more that I don't take time to appreciate every day.
8. my health...which although it's not perfect, I'm so thankful to be able to walk, to see, to hear, to feel and to function daily in the manner God intended
9. my education...which enables me to read, to communicate with others, to comprehend, and to teach...my chosen profession
10. music...for the ability to hear and to sing and to play instruments and to praise God with the talents he has bestowed on me...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!