Tales of a Thankful Mom

 I am grateful for the delicious food and fun times spent with family yesterday. Thank you Mom and Dad for a super yummy dinner. I am thankful that my brother, niece and nephew, my kids and I scootered/ skateboarded down the road to our neighborhood park. I was thoroughly entertained by my 20 year old nephew’s gymnastic skills crossing a tree laden park solely by climbing across the trees. I am grateful that my niece and I played the game Clue with my kids. I am thankful for a fun game of rummy, even if my score was in the negative numbers. I am grateful my brother and sister in love brought my kids doughnuts for breakfast this morning. These are a few of the memories that I will have of Thanksgiving 2020. I am thankful for my family. I love them so much What are you thankful for today?

           "But, I don\"t want to write about grief." I thought as I read Kate\"s Five Minute Friday post this week. I know deep in my soul grief is a necessary part of healing, but it was one that I would much rather skip if I’m being totally honest. I have people counting on me. I don’t have time to fall apart I tell myself. I got to keep moving. I need to distract myself. If I start crying how will I make myself stop. I am ashamed that this still hurts. It has been almost three years. He has moved on. Life has moved on. Why is it so hard for me to move forward? In these moments I need to remember that God is with me. I need to remember that there is no set time table for grief. I need to stop holding on and just be held.

           I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to it more now than I was a couple of weeks ago. A few weeks ago, I thought my children were going to be with their Dad at Thanksgiving, but plans changed and he had to cancel. When he told me that he wouldn't be able to spend Thanksgiving with the,children. I started thinking about all the fun things I could do with my kids the week they have off for Thanksgiving. Has there ever been a time when a cancellation has been a blessing? I would love to read your story in the comments.

           When I read the word ahead, I thought of a book that greatly encouraged me on my journey of healing   Hope Ahead  by Barb Mulvey and Cris Paulson. This book reminded that in the middle of shattered promises, in the midst of broken dreams that there is hope ahead. I am so thankful that my hope does not have to be in temporal things. "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness." I am grateful that I have this hope that is an anchor for my soul. Our God does not change. His compassion never fail. Nothing comes as a surprise to God. He is with us each step of the way. Because of God\"s love for each of us there is truly hope ahead.

          I am thankful for the right to vote, and that I can teach my children history of voting on the US. My children and I discussed the fact that women have only been able to vote in this country for a century. I had one child tell me that they knew this already. This child was unimpressed with the history lesson. My children will sometimes complain when choices are made for them. They would like the opportunity to make choices for themselves. I have told them that even adults don't always get to choose various things that may happen in our lives. Sometimes I wish hard choices were made for me.  There have been times where the multitude of choices have overwhelmed me. This is when I focus on a lesson I learned from Emily Freeman's book 'The Next Right Thing." Choose to do the next right thing in love. For me right now, that is to admire the art that my children are creating at the kitchen table. What is your next right thing?