Thanks is for Giving

Life moves at such a fast pace! Here we are, the first day of November, officially entering the 'holiday season." Last year I did one post each day of November in an effort to celebrate THANKSgiving. For those of you who don't know, I served my mission in the South. People joke about how I had to learn a new language down there, and it's true. I have a few favorite Southern words and phrases that make my heart smile. One of them is THANKSgiving. Every Southerner that I know emphasized the THANKS in Thanksgiving. That really struck a chord in my heart, and now that is how I hear the word THANKSgiving. I don't say it quite as fluently as a true Southerner, but I try, and most of all, I try to live it. With that said, this post begins my THANKSgiving.

Today's THANKS is a little selfish: I am thankful for who I am, and who I am becoming. Last week my life got really crazy and I was an emotional mess. I was angry, hurt, sad, and all of that other good stuff. During this time I was thinking that I just wanted to be mad for a while, to hold a grudge. But I knew that those things would not make me happy in the long run. In fact, within 2 days I was ready to forgive and move forward. I was still hurt, but I wanted to move on and feel better. Things are still crazy, and from time to time the tempter tries to get me to be angry or negative. It would be so easy to give in, but then I remember that those are not the things that will make me feel better now, or in the long run. As I pushed aside another temptation to be angry today, I found myself saying "Thank you" to the Lord for shaping me into the person that I am becoming. There was a time in my life when giving in to these feelings would have been easy, but I know better now. I am thankful for the experience that have brought me to where I am today. I am thankful to be me, and I am thankful to have had an opportunity to recognize who that really is for myself. I am also thankful for those who really know me, and who I really am. I know that I have a long way to go before I become who the Lord has planned for me to be, but I am working on it little by little.