I'm Thankful...

With Thanksgiving coming up, along with the holidays and cooler weather (sorry I live in Arizona I can't put cold - it never gets cold here)... I figured I would start a thread to lighten things up a little bit. I know this is a hard time of year for many of us, not only do we have to put on smiling faces at family get functions but we also have to do a lot of pretending and just smiling through the pain.

Anyways...

I'm thankful because...
... I was told 5 years ago I wouldn't walk in 6 months and I still can.
... Even after all the doubts and worries, my husband is still here, loving me even though I'm "broken"
... I have a dog that knows when I'm in pain and she cuddles and kisses to try to make me feel better.
... I have a cat that doesn't know what is wrong with me except that he's hungry and makes me stop feeling sorry for myself to go feed him.
... My family supporting and trying their hardest to understand what I go through
... My mom calling and making sure I'm okay even if she knows that I'm not.
... My wonderful nephews who hearing them giggle can make me laugh no matter how much pain I'm in
... God has shown me that yes, being pain sucks, but He has yet to give me a cross I can't carry, and He never will.
... My pain has shown me to be stronger than I ever thought possible, in ways I never knew.
... The man standing in front of me in line with a cart full of items, when I'm holding "tigerbalm" and desperately needing it, who offers to let me go ahead of him... he'll never know that sometimes that five minutes feels like weeks.
... The fact that God has allowed me to be a living example, rather than someone who believes but doesn't live what he believes. I hear from so many people... "how you can deal with what you deal with and still be nice, cheery, compassionate, and loving is simply a freak of nature". My response is always the same... "Jesus Christ was whipped and stones, persecuted and worse. Then hung on a cross to die... he never complained... if he did all that for me... I have no reason or right to allow my pain to make me bitter at the world".
... I'm thankful for the fact that I get welcome home kisses from my husband every single time one of us comes home.
... Dogs love you no matter what mood your in, whether you yell at them or get irritated. You walk in the door after being gone 5 seconds or 5 months and they still love you and are always excited to see you.

I hope that many of you can add the small blessings and the big ones you have in your life to this list. It's so easy sometimes to get wrapped up in our own little world of pain that we forget we should be lucky we are still here... living, breathing, loving, and laughing.