Thanksgiving

So, Joel ask me to post about thanksgiving along side of him... I don't why I would accept an invitation from someone so eloquent. But here I am.

My life is so abundant, it is hard to begin with what I am thankful for. I find myself in the midst of REAL life - the part of it we all wait for.

1. I am married to my best friend. As I spend more and more time with young, unmarried girls, I am more and more thankful for Joel. As much as he provides companionship, he also provides a security and sense of belonging that we all long for. I can speak confidently into people's lives without having the shadow their judgement causing me to hesitate - my value comes from the Lord, and many times through what the Lord has made Joel feel for me.
2. I have 3 AMAZING babies. Throughout life, I tried to figure out why I had different experiences with people with disabilities. Honestly, I usually concluded that I would be getting a disability eventually. But to my gracious surprise, I am blessed to have Arabella and Darin. I adore them. I love the promise of more and more snuggles to come throughout their life. I love that we will tackle challenges as a unified force. Then there's my wild man, Holden. Man, I love that kid. His mind is so expansive it overwhelms me. He remembers EVERYTHING we say, and he can transfer that information into new situations as needed.
   
3. Family. Truthfully, I always pictured doing work for the Lord in a foreign country. Family-wise, this is equivalent to doing work in a lab - they can't see the task or be a part of it; and any insight they may have would be from afar. My personal solution to leaving them out was to take them with me - what better model of the Church than the family. But even now, I am experiencing the best of both worlds: God is having us do work right in the place where we have family. We are able to experience their support (THANKS - mom, dad, Mimi, Glenn, Marcia, Tim and Nathan) without uprooting all of them. I know God will always provide what we need to do His work, but it is very nice to have those provisions come through our Family.
4. My BasiliGirls. College was the Glory Days of girl-friendships. You have lots of time to invest in friendships, and you are in a place to discover what type of friend you want to be. I never thought I would have a really close group of girlfriends again. In the girls who have come together around Basilica, I have found companionship and challenge.
5. Precepts. I have longed to know the Bible - but truthfully, I did not. I didn't know how get the information into my head in a way I could actually apply it. Precepts Bible Study method is showing me the way. I think that I am beginning to grasp issues in the Bible I have only heard great men of God talk about before.

Lord, thank you for life. It is more abundant than I could have EVERY planned or imagined.