Its November which means everyone on Facebook is writing daily posts called "30 Days of Thankfulness." I despise most of those posts. The reality is that most people don't keep up with their daily posts, they are thankful for very first world things that don't really matter or they stop posting altogether by Day 10- maybe because they've run out of things to say? As you can guess, I don't participate in "30 Days of Thankfulness." I like to think I do it everyday of the year instead.
Today though, I'm gonna tell y'all a little story about the things I'm thankful for this year. Two years ago, I was a fairly new mother. I was just finding my way and becoming more confident in my parenting skills. I was also just beginning the journey of forgiving myself for my very traumatic birth that I'm still not ready to write about. It was about two years ago that I was introduced to my very best friend, Sassy Britches, by a mutual friend.
Two years ago I was in need of a good friend. If I could have made a list of all the things I wanted in a friend, I would not have even thought to request a lot of the things that Sassy embodies. If I were picking a best friend out of a lineup I doubt I would have chosen her and I bet she wouldn't have chosen me either. You see, on paper we are quite the unlikely duo. She, of great faith, much education, and very few swear words; I, the antithesis of all of those things. No one could have guessed we'd find common ground elsewhere. No one except the person who put us together in the first place: God.
He was the only one who would have guessed or who knew that we needed each other. He knew that we would balance each other out. He knew that together we could do great things. He also knew that He could use her to start running me down. He must've said to the angels "Her! That girl who says she doesn't want me- I want her." And I imagine they thought He was crazy. Why would God, the holiest of holy, want a girl who is loud, irreverent, improper? A girl who cusses like a sailor and denies religous trappings? Your guess is as good as mine but He sent Sassy to catch me.
This is where the thankful part comes in. I am eternally grateful that God sent me a
friend who was way better than any friend I would have picked for myself. I am thankful that He knows my heart and knew what I needed before I even knew myself. I am thankful that he knows my heart and loved it anyway. I am thankful that He put Sassy in a position in her life in which she was willing to accept me for me. That He put it in her heart to come out and meet me at the place I was at in my life at that moment. I am thankful that He chased me. That everytime I could feel Him tugging at my heart and chose to ignore it, He started pulling harder and yelling louder. Above all, I am thankful for grace and understanding. Thankful that He saw fit to send me a friend who embodies grace and understanding, who gave me grace and understanding long before I was ready to accept it. I am thankful for a God who knows exactly what to do to get our attention even when the road is two years long. I am grateful for a God who sees past our history, our doubt, our questions, fears and motivations and sees straight through to our gifts, our hearts and our intentions.
Your turn! What are you thankful for this holiday season?
