In no particular order:
1. My friends-I have amazing friends. Some days I wonder at how I am supposed to keep up with all of the good friends that I have. (Some days I realize I am failing at that miserably! Sorry if that's you!) I have friends who speak truth to me in kindness, who make me laugh like nobody's business, friends who share my quirks and friends who have their own quirks that make them especially "them." I have friends that when I change the subject in the middle of talking about something else, roll right along with me and don't need any reason why I'm all over the place. I have friends who listen to me talk and process out loud and not make any sense but still pretend to understand and help me make sense of the "crazy." I have friends who hug me every time they see me because they know I love hugs!! I have friends who take care of me when I'm sick, who text me funny things, who tell me that they thought of me because they saw something about refugees or Africa and they know this is close to my heart. I have friends who let me hold their babies and call me Aunt Jess. You don't even know how this melts my heart! I have friends who teach me about how to love Jesus through the way they work in their jobs, the way they meet the needs of others, the way they have moved halfway across the world to bring Light into darkness. Like I said, they are just amazing. God is so sweet to me and I feel Him in these friendships of mine!
2. My job. I have a job. That is reason to be thankful enough I believe. But my job is so great and also, so hard. I get to talk with children who have been abused and neglected. I get to play games with them, draw pictures, read stories, talk with them about their behaviors, listen to their hurts, give them goofy nicknames, hold them in my arms, pray over them. What a job! I also get to walk with foster and adoptive parents through really hard things-these parents who have taken in children not their own, not at first, but then everything changes and you better not mess with these foster parents who will fight for these foster children, especially when it seems like no one else is fighting for them. What a privilege to walk with them, to pray with them, to encourage them, to support them and sometimes, on a really good day, give them advice and suggestions for their children that actually work! My job brings a lot of hurt into my life that maybe I would not have if I worked somewhere else, but I am not sure I would do anything else. (Ok there are days I dream about moving to Africa to hold babies for a living!) But right now, I am so thankful for this job that God has given me and for the way He is at work in this job.
3. My FAMILY!! Oh my goodness I love my family. I miss them all the time, but I also feel really close to them no matter how long it is before I get to see them again. Dad-you crack me up-I am pretty sure that no one makes me laugh like you-I don't know exactly what it is, but the way you tell a story is awesome and hilarious. You have to remember to not tell me falling-down stories when I'm driving. Just not safe. Also-thanks for teaching me to want more of God in my life. Mom-you are so consistent and encouraging. Thank you for taking my many phone calls, break-downs, ranting and raving - all with a grain of salt - and with patience and most of the time, sympathy. :) Thanks for encouraging me to be thankful! Even when I don't want to be. Andrew-one of my best friends (told you!). I love your passion for things, like duck-calls, or for people, like your sweet friend whose family is overseas and you made sure he had calling cards so he could speak with them. You blow me away with your compassion. You also drive me crazy with your stubbornness. Mostly you teach me about Jesus and I'm so thankful to be your sister! Britt- my "sister-cuz" as Mom would say. Man, I love you a lot. I love that any time I get to see you, I know that it means I will be getting lots of hugs and cuddles and kisses on the cheek and just lots of lovin'!! You fill my cup! I love your passion for life. You love to take care of others-to your detriment sometimes, but you just can't help it. You care about everyone no matter who they are. I want to be more like that! Traci-our newest family member-I am so glad you picked Andrew. You are perfect for him. You have patience that none of us have! :) Traci- I love your heart for the world. Love that we can connect over having been to other countries and caring for the least of these. I love your laugh- it is crazy contagious! Thankful for all of my other family members-especially my grandparents who all have loved Jesus and who have always made sure that we do too. What a gift to have these examples in my life.
4. Towne Center, Vickery Meadows. I am thankful to live where I live. Daily I am reminded that the world is so much bigger than my own little story. Daily I get to interact with people from Nepal, Burundi, Burma, Thailand, Mexico and Dallas, TX. I love that pretty much I am guaranteed to hear my name called when I walk out of my apartment whether it is by the many children I know or sometimes by a total stranger who just happens to know who I am. I love that there are several good friends from my church who also live here that I get to walk alongside as we try to show Jesus' love to our neighbors. I love my sweet Burmese family who cooks breakfast for me and my roommate every Sunday. Who every time I talk to them remind me that I have family here in Dallas-they are just not related by blood. But they are related by the Spirit of Jesus and that is more than enough. They check on me when I am sick and worry about me when they have not seen me in three or four days. I love the Nepali family who also calls me daughter, sister and friend. They invite me in for meals, for their special holidays, for the births of their babies. What a privilege! I want so much for these friends of mine to know Jesus as their One Saviour. I am thankful for the many conversations I get to have where I try to explain Jesus (yikes, how do you explain Jesus??) and then God reminds me he is bigger than me and that he has a plan for the people who live here and it is better than any short-term solution I can come up with. I am even thankful for the days that children knock on the door and even though I maybe don't want to open it up -I do, because how can I not? I love these children so much. I am thankful for the small taste of being a mother-I love getting to do homework and encouraging kids to read. I even love it when the only reason a kid knocks on my door is to tattle on somebody else. It just makes me laugh. I absolutely love this crazy little place called Vickery.
5. Thankful for my Jesus! Thankful for God who sent his son into a hard, dark, unfriendly world, so that one day he would die for the sins of that dark world. And so that one day I could know Him because of his Son. I am thankful for God's faithfulness and his sweet, gentleness in the way he cares for me. I know that my life could look completely different but for his grace. And I am thankful for that grace!! I am thankful that although there are times when I think my life should look a certain way and I express those thoughts to Jesus, that He already knows and He loves me still, even when I am kinda mad at Him. He reminds me of the truth in His word. He reminds me that he cares about justice more than I ever could and that he loves my refugee friends and my foster babies more than I could ever imagine. Jesus reminds me to have compassion and grace when really I want to be angry or mean. He reminds me that he loves the whole world and he has had a plan from the beginning of time to rescue this world and make it new again. And I am most thankful for this- that he will come again and we will be restored.
Thankful,
Jess
So much to be thankful for! God is good!
ReplyDeletebeautiful....thankful for you!
ReplyDeleteand i am thankful for....YOU! love you my friend :)
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