"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever" Psalm 107:1 NIV
First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!! It's one of my favorite weeks of the whole year. It's a short work week; long fun weekend; great time with family and friends; awesome dinner; and shopping for gifts. I look forward to this week all year. I hope you do too.
I have a lot to be thankful for this year. We got through the year with no big tragedies so that's always a huge plus. Emily and I got to go on a dream vacation with awesome friends. She has had a great start to her high school career. I am still beyond blessed with the best family and friends. Most of all, I am still learning and growing in my faith as a Christ follower. God has blessed me beyond measure and for that I am always so very thankful.
I had set a couple of goals this year and it's taking me most of the year to see them start to take shape. One of my goals was to speak with others about my journey of grief and being a widow. I got to realize that dream a week ago thanks to my beautiful friend Chris and her awesome pastor husband Jimmy. They invited me to talk to their church about grief and my path so far. I was honored and gave Him all the glory for being able to share my story. Part of the healing process is to reach back and help others. I feel it keeps our beloved alive through sharing our stories and allowing others in on our cherished memories. I enjoyed talking to these amazing people and even got relationship advice from a remarried widow. She was so sweet and shared her story with me and how she had been married for 32 years when her first husband passed. She met a man at church that was a widower after being married for 42 years. They fell in love and are now blessed to be man and wife. She shared her hope for me and told me she would pray that God will send me a God centered man. It's incredible to meet people that have walked the same journey as you and to hear them say they will pray for your continued healing. For that, I am thankful for getting to help others and being blessed by wonderful women who reach back to me. It's beautiful to be part of a community of loving and caring women.
Another major goal I had set for myself is to serve my community through helping new widows and widowers and their children. I want to hand out bags that contain a couple of small books that I hand picked along with resources that have helped me along my path. I also will include things in the bag for small children and I have a couple of ideas for older children. I contacted our local county foundation and they seem to like the idea. After Thanksgiving, Emily and I will be meeting with them to discuss the next steps for our project. I am so excited and thankful for the people that have liked my idea and have pointed me in the right direction to set this in motion. I'll keep you all updated on this. Please keep us in your prayers for this idea to become a reality and we will be able to bless others that are starting their journey. I want to show them love and compassion as God as shown us. The best way to bring others to Christ is to lead by example; to become His disciples. This idea is already a year old and with prayer and His will, we hope to see it happen.
One way to navigate through our grief is to be thankful to God. I know you are saying to yourself: How can I be thankful when my heart is broken in two? I thought the same way when our church counselor told us that we would get to a point where we can be thankful. A grateful heart is a full heart so when you feel like you can, start telling Jesus what all you are thankful for. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". NIV If you fill your heart with gratitude and love, slowly the pain will start to ease. I promise you that you will feel your heart start to heal.
I pray that all of you will have a very Happy Thanksgiving. If you feel like you can't continue to do the traditions that you did with your beloved just have patience with yourself. Take a couple of steps back and re-evaluate your situation. If you have to, change your traditions even if it's just for this year and do something new or different.
Just breathe and pray; He's with you always. Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:20, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Believe this sisters and know that He is always there, holding your hand, loving you every step. If you can only be thankful for just one thing this year, be thankful for Jesus being there with you. He sees your pain, hurt, and tears. He loves you right here, right now. Rest in this assurance and just whisper, Thank you Jesus!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving and take care of yourself this holiday season!!
