Thankful

"In the happy moments...Praise God. In the difficult moments... Seek God. In the quiet moments... Trust God. In EVERY moment...Thank God!!! Happy Thanksgiving!"

As I was trying to figure out how to write this post, I noticed the above quote on one of my Facebook friend's wall. And it appropriately sums up what I wanted to express today.

About this time last year I made a couple of decisions. One was to approach every day with a positive attitude. Every moment in our journey to adopt was to be faced with optimism. For those of you out there who have been there or are going through that journey, you know how hard that can be. But I have managed it very well this past year. And for that, I am thankful.

The other thing was to give my heart over to God and His Will. I am not an overly religious person. So this was a big step and it happened in a really odd moment. I was watching a PBS program by Rick Steves. It was a Christmas special documenting all the different ways Christmas is celebrated in Europe. One of the recurring themes was light. Candlelight shining in the darkness of cold winter nights. It was so beautiful. I made my mind up while watching the program to let that light in.

I said a prayer right there and then thanking God. And I decided I would speak with Him more often. Not to ask Him to give me anything. But to thank Him for everything. To thank Him for my husband. To thank Him for my family. To thank Him for every day. To thank Him for putting the desire to adopt in my heart. I also decided to give as much as I could during this year. I called it "The Year of Giving". But I should have called it "The Year of Being Thankful"!

The only thing I asked for was patience. That prayer has made this last year so much more bearable. Hunter and I just decided to get on with life and not worry about when we would become parents. We spent this last year living for each other. I think that is what needed to happen to make us finally ready to become parents. And for that, I am also thankful.

So, thank you, Melanie for posting that wonderful thought today. Please know that you have inspired me. I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and a joyous holiday season filled with the true meaning of Christmas.