Happy Thanksgiving!

To all those in Canada (or anywhere else celebrating!), Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! This holiday allows us to all take the time to reflect on what we have and are thankful for. Of course, we really should do this everyday...but Thanksgiving is the one day that you should really take to count your blessings.
 
If I were to list all my blessings and what I'm thankful for, I would never be done! God is so good to us - He gives us so many blessings. One of these blessings is knowing that He loves us unconditionally. In honour of Thanksgiving, I have decided to list some things I am thankful for. I am also going to take this as an opportunity to let others know how thankful I am for having them in my life. Mom, Dad, and Nansy - I love you more than you can imagine. I am so blessed to have you three in my lifer. You never gave up on me, even in my worst days in the ICFU. To all my readers and friends, I am thankful for your love, kindness, encouragement, and support. I would never have come this far if it weren't for you all. And first and foremost, God, I am thankful for Your love and strength. I am thankful that You allowed me to experience struggling with ED, because this journey has made me who I am today. I thank the Lord for giving me the courage to openly speak about my experiences so that others can learn about ED and mental health.

Here are some more things I am thankful for...what is on YOUR Thanksgiving list? I am thankful for:
-life. Even though it gets challenging, I am thankful to be alive.
-my health. We all struggle with health issues, but it could always be worse. I am thankful for being able to breathe, eat, sleep, talk, see, walk, move, hear, write, etc.
-school and work. Life gets stressful, especially with work demands and assignments. But I am thankful for these, because my education allows me to interact with the world and to constantly use my brain to learn and teach others. I am thankful for work because it keeps me busy, allows me to use my talents and gifts, and provides money to pay the bills.
-my church and faith. I wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for my faith, the Bible, and my church community. I am thankful to be a child of God.
-nature and the Earth. The Sun and stars are beautiful. Flowers make everything look pretty! Oceans show us God's power. The moon fills the sky at night. Animals are evidence of God's creation. Everything in nature reminds me of how much God loves us.
-challenges. Difficult as they may be, each new experience and struggle helps me grow and learn. I have become wiser and stronger because of every obstacle I have faced.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 107:1)

Popular posts from this blog

The 'Comfort Zone'

Image
  No one likes to be challenged out of their 'comfort zone'. You know - the place where you know you will succeed. Please note that I am not talking about real safety. There is a HUGE difference between challenging yourself to do something you are worried you will fail at, and putting yourself at risk of harm. I am not a 'risk-taker' by any means. I hate roller-coasters. I despise scary movies. I don't speed through yellow lights hoping to pass through. At the same time, I'm not superstitious. I will take some risks if I think that they are reasonable. I will apply for positions that I am not sure I will get. I will try drawing something that I have never tried before. I will (cautiously!) try new yoga positions to test my balance. At the same time, I very much dislike getting out of my comfort zone in certain situations. For example, I applied to a position a while ago, feeling nervous that I would not get it. I mean, how awful would it be if I did NOT get it? ...
Read more

Happy Mothers' Day!

Today is Mothers' Day! Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms, sisters, aunts, grandmas, cousins, etc all over the world! You deserve to be recognized everyday for your work, but today is a special day just for us to tell you how amazing and wonderful you all are! This day is certainly important for me, because my mom is my best friend. She is everything to me. I want her to know how much she means to me - and how much I appreciate her. Mom, this is for you! Last year on Mother's Day, I was dying in the ICU and could not breathe. I didn't even have enough breath to tell my mom, 'happy mothers' day'. And she didn't protest or complain. She stayed by my side and prayed, looking into my dull and tired eyes. She told me, 'don't worry, Marina. You will be okay. All I want for Mother's Day is for you to be alive and to come out of this healthy and well. That is the best and only gift I want'. I cried because I couldn't give her a proper ...
Read more

Published again! - and birthday celebrations

Image
I am blessed to say that once again, my writing has been featured on Fr. Anthony's site. This time, my post is about suffering and pain, and how to communicate with God during these times : http://franthony.com/how-long-o-lord/ I will be honest with you, I find that when I get overwhelmed by the troubles in this world, it becomes difficult to do anything. And sometimes, the hardest thing to do during tribulations is to pray. We all have times when we don't feel like talking to God - and this is harder when we feel angry or fearful that God has forgotten about us. Here is a little secret: God can never forget about us . He loves us unconditionally. And He has His eyes on you all the time, His hands around you to protect you, and His ears ready to listen. I know that sometimes it is hard to pray and communicate with God when we are facing obstacles because we don't understand why things are happening as in our lives. But know this: 'all things work together  for the g...
Read more