In our home, we have a wooden artwork that declares that God is good, ALL the time. All the time. Even in this very tough year, He is good. It's been a year of loneliness, pain, death, sorrow and stress. A year that I still miss my friends and family. A year when my Dad, one of my favorite people, died too suddenly and too young. A year when I learned what it is to grieve. And so much more. But, God is still good. So good that He has come alongside me, loved me despite my anxiety and doubt. A love that is so good that He gave his Son to die so that I might live. And live abundantly. That I might live abundantly, in spite of the tough times around us.
So, I choose to dwell on the reasons that I have to be thankful. Not because it will make me feel better, but because I know that the suffering that I have experienced will only bring me closer to the Cross. And to the Savior for which I am the most thankful. So, I am thankful for my career. A career that allows me to teach, to develop relationships and impart wisdom on my wonderful students. I am thankful, too, that my career helps to provide me with food, clothing and a home. A home that is beautiful, dry, safe and warm. A home where we can invite friends for games, dinner and build relationships. A home where we have had the opportunity to host friends and family overnight, which we call the "Bley B&B". A home that is safe and big enough to provide for our newest addition, a little cocker spaniel named Roman. A wonderful, charming little dog that has warmed our hearts. A puppy who has brought companionship and love to us when we desperately needed it. I am so thankful for this little puppy whose name, and and speckled coat of hair, remind me of my own spotted and sinful nature. I am so thankful for my family. A family that has shown me love. It is the Brack family that is as weird and crazy as I am, so that I feel "normal" although I am far from it! A family who is willing to sacrifice their own desires for my own. And for the Bley family that has loved me, even though I was not always one of their own.
I am thankful, too, for my suffering. Thankful for the loneliness and sorrow that accompanied our move from family and friends, because of how it has transformed my marriage. And thankful for how it has shown me the heart of God. I am thankful for my Dad. Who, although he is gone, will always be one of my favorite people. A man with a witty, dry humor. A man who gave me my humor. A man who showed me love. Love for family and love for strangers. A man who left such an impression that I am sure decades of time apart will not remove it. I am, at my better moments, thankful for my suffering. For I know that it has and will continue to produce character and hope. A hope for my salvation. A hope for a future without suffering. And a character that has been given and developed by my Father in Heaven.
