After having a rough couple of days with a heavy heart over the passing of Romeo (my cat on MKK), my aunt and uncle leaving, my little brown eyed cuties with chicken pox, and having some tummy issues... I have spent many hours in prayer desiring to question what God is doing but I just can't. Everytime I start to even try to get upset with the God of the universe... tears well up in my eyes and my heart only gets heavier. Who am I to wonder what He is doing... who am I to choose just the rose without the thorns... who am I to desire a perfect, pain free life when that is not how my Savior lived... so I am choosing to trust Him and be thankful.
Instead of writing the 30 days of thankfulness on facebook and getting discouraged because I missed a day, I am choosing to list what I am thankful for here. So with thanksgivng day just a few days away.... I am going to count the things the Lord has blessed me with! Living internationally has definitely made me realize the little things that I take for granted on a daily basis. So with all of this... my heart is ultimately thankful to God because every good and perfect gift is from Him!
1. for biological family... for raising me in the ways of the Lord and for blessing me with more than I deserve and for loving me despite my imperfections
2. for spiritual family... my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world that pray... encourage ... and love me!
3. for God and his lovingkindness that gently brings me to repentance
4. for provisions of everything that is needed
5. For ice to make drinks COLD
6. For padded seats with backs at church
7. For hot running showers
8. For air conditioned shops where it is not 90+ degrees within the store while trying to grocery shop
9. For fast convenient food that doesn't take 2 hours to make or recieve
10. For fast internet service
11. For well maintained roads
12. For drivers that follow the rules of the road
13. For prompt mail delivery
14. For the US postal service... you don't know how good we have it in the US until you live in another country
15. For friends that send care packages
16. For iced coffee and just coffee in general
17. For electricity
18. For computers that work
19. For a sense of humor when you say or do something completely wrong in the culture you are living in.... for example... I was walking around campus on Monday whistling and teaching a few of the older children how when one of the Ugandan staff whispered ... that is not good in our culture... that is what is used to call Snakes!
20. For little brown eyed cuties that are always happy to see me
21. For partners in the ministry that come along side to help
22. For 60 pairs of christmas shoes and 120 pairs of socks hand delivered by Godlive the manager of Bata shoes...who knew buying shoes could open the door to meeting a sister in Christ as well as her fiance who is going to use Nabisooto as a starting place for their sanitation and hygiene training for the entire community
23. For a flushing toilet
24. For pets that bring so much joy and laughter into our lives
25. For rainy season as everything is so green
26. For friends that choose to lose sleep so that we can talk on the phone
27. For airplanes that bring family and friends to visit
28. For entertainmet ... like movies and tv and game night
29. For the ocean and all of God's creation
30. For worship songs in all languages that lift up His name
31. For the amazing opportunity to serve... and be His hands and feet... it is tough and lonely at times but the smiles on my little brown eyed cuties makes it all worth it!
Oh... and for clean feet!
As I close out for the night.. my heart is at peace and I am ready for a good night of rest. Counting blessings definitely puts everything into perspective! May I challenge you to do the same this thanksgivng week.
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