Thanksgiving

This is my first Thanksgiving not with my family ever.  It was weird.  I missed everyone.  BUT! I did have a great day all the same.  But it made me think a little bit.  enough to pull me out of the realms of procrastination and write a blog about it anyway, so here it is!  I love Thanksgiving. I love turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, my grandma Norman's cranberry sauce, I like the sheer amount of food that is piled up, and how there are leftovers for days and days. I love seeing my family and spending time with them (this was much higher on the list after I went to college and didn't actually see them every day).  But what I love most about Thanksgiving is what it signifies: the beginning of the Holiday season. It is step one in the journey to Christmas and the New Year. And how very appropriate that the fist step in the journey that takes us to the celebration of the birth of our savior and the close of the year is one of thankfulness. Even though the year is drawing to a close, for most of us, our lives aren't.  2013 will turn to 2014 without a thought for our feelings or objections, as surely as the sun rises in the East. Somebody had wonderful planning skills I think, that they made the first step in all this a day to pause and remember to show gratitude for the blessings we've been given. Before the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping begins, where we stress and worry about what to get our friends and family, there is a day that is designated for everyone to sit down together with some good food and thank God for what he's given us.  A day to remind the people around us how grateful we are for the part they have played in our lives over the course of the year. And that's important. I am not quite sure how to emphasize that enough. Showing gratitude is important. We need that, each and every one of us. Sometimes we need it just to take our ego down a few steps and remind us of all the people who got us to where we are, but more often I think we just need to be reminded that we matter. People need to hear that you're thankful for them. I believe that humans crave the affirmation that their presence on this earth makes a difference. There is a quote that is famously misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson (no one knows who really said it) that goes something like this: 

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--this is to have succeeded."

To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--That's heady stuff. Everyone wants to feel like they made a difference in the world, even if that difference was only in just one person's life. And while it only takes about 30 seconds to express gratitude to someone, we have a whole day dedicated to making sure that people really understand just how grateful you are for their presence (however brief) in your life. I know I’m a bit late, but I encourage you to remind someone exactly what they mean to you. Don’t let your gratitude begin and end with Thanksgiving though, I challenge you to carry that attitude with you into the rest of the holiday season, I think you might be surprised what will happen if you do.

So! On that note, I'd like to take a moment and list some of the reasons I've had to be thankful this year. This is by no means a comprehensive list, I can almost guarantee that I have forgotten people, so if you are reading this and you aren’t here, there is a very good chance I’m thankful for you too. <3

THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR IN 2013:

• I am thankful for my mom and dad. That they love each other, that they love me. I’m thankful that I have a mom who lets me whine to her about life, who pushes me to grow and be a better person, and who deals with all of my food issues like a champ- even helping me work through them when I am ready to give up and just resign myself to starvation. I’m thankful for a dad who lets me call early in the morning to talk, who supports my craziest adventures and ideas, and who still lets me sit on his lap even though I’m probably too old for it.
• I’m thankful for my siblings, my wild and crazy siblings. I’m thankful for a baby sister who lights up my day with her giggles and hugs, and who steals my shoes. 
• I’m thankful for a sister who watches Barbie movies with me without hesitation or judgment. 
• I’m thankful for a brother who always seems to have the right words to make me laugh. I am so incredibly thankful for the talks, the laughs, and the smiles I’ve shared with my three siblings, and I know I could not have possibly gotten luckier if Id picked out them out myself. 
• I’m thankful for the family I’ve adopted over the years- Hannah, watching you grow up, become an adult, and go off to college has been one of my greatest privileges. 
• Jess, I loved watching you marry the love of your life. I’m thankful I met you this year, I’m thankful for the relationship we developed, and I’m thankful for how you have continued to grow since we've met.
• Sarah, You actually live with my family, you are small and wonderful, and I love you oh so much. 
• I’m thankful for my friends. Where would I be without you guys? Aly, for understanding how I am dietarily challenged and commiserating with me. 
• McKinley and Isaac, for being absolute rocks in my life. I don't think I ever expected my friendships from high school to last so long or be as deep as they were, but I would not trade you guys for the world. 
• Krista, I love you girl. No matter where life has taken us, we've stayed friends. They say if a friendship lasts longer than 7 years, psychologists say it will last a lifetime. I figure we've really been friends since about the 6th grade, that puts us at about 9 years. So Cheers! You’re stuck with me for life. ;) 
• Lucy, I can’t even begin to tell you all the ways I am thankful for you. Talking with you always helps me find my center again. Your life is truly the greatest ministry I’ve ever seen, because in everything you do, everything you say, in every piece of advice you give, you point me back to Jesus. And Lord knows I've needed to be pointed back to him a lot this last year. 
• Ryan, I doubt you know this, but a huge part of why I came to YWAM to do a DTS was because of you. Because I watched you talk about Jesus, and I couldn't remember the last time I had legitimately been excited about him. I couldn't remember the last time I really felt like Jesus was my friend, or God was my father. I struggled to reconcile the faith of my childhood with my life at school, and you did it so seamlessly. Jesus seemed to permeate every sphere of your life, and I was so incredibly jealous. Every time I walked away from a conversation with you, I couldn't help but think, "I want to know his Jesus." And in the end, it was realizing how messed up my own relationship with Jesus was that made me want to do a DTS. So I’m thankful I met you, and I’m thankful for your life, it helped give me the kick in the pants I needed to come to what has probably been the best and most influential experience of my life.
• Laurel, I could not have gone through the year without you. Thank you for being there when I just needed someone to be there for me. 
• Kyle, for skyping me football games, always finding a way to put things in perspective, for letting me freak out about spiders, boys, and just about everything in between, and just generally being fantastic. 
• Kaitlyn and Jenna, Thank you for always making me feel beautiful and helping me let loose and have fun. Jenna I can't believe I’ve only known you for a year. It seems like so much longer! You ladies are an absolute delight to know, and I feel privileged to call you my friends. 
• Malia. You are a snotty little brat and I love you more than I'd love a $100,000 shopping spree to Nordstrom. You are the love of my life, and absolutely irreplaceable.  You call me out, you make me laugh, you laugh with me, cry with me, and if I jumped off a bridge you'd come fish me out again to tell me what an idiot I was. You keep me humble, but you never let me sell myself short either, and I think it’s probably what I am most thankful for when I am with you. I love you to the moon and back. 
• Lastly, (but certainly not least!) I am thankful for that weird girl who at one point let me boss her into cuddling me and who's been somewhere between my sister and my best friend ever since, how many reasons this year alone do I have to be thankful for Mackenzie? Too many. 
• I’m thankful for all of the people I met at WSU, especially in ROTC. You helped me grow up.
• I’m thankful for simple things like a house and food, pretty blankets, and the ability to come to Jesus school.
• There is so much more I have to be thankful for, but this list is quickly growing too long. I am truly thankful to each and every person who has touched my life and supported me on my way to Atlanta, I’m thankful for the friends I’ve made since being here, and for all of the amazing people I’ve encountered. I am blessed beyond belief.

I love you all so much, Happy Thanksgiving!