This Thanksgiving...

It's truly amazing how quickly a year goes by, and how much your life can change in such a short amount of time. This time last year, my life felt as though it was completely falling apart all around me. Looking back, some of that time was a blur, and some of that time is embedded in my memory so vividly that I wish I could forget it. And although some days I still feel as though I'm still living in chaos, I feel extremely thankful this year for the many blessings that God has given me.

Social media makes it very to easy compare your life to everyone else's these days. We take the best part of our days and showcase them for everyone to see, moving piles of laundry and staging our pictures just right so it appears as though we have it all together. As you look through photos on my social media accounts, you would never be able to guess which days that I was battling some of the hardest days of my life. I'm guilty of looking at other's photos and seeing things like engagements, weddings and pregnancy announcements, and wondering why everyone else's lives seem to be moving forward while mine seems to be moving backwards. It has taken me a good year to realize that I am not moving backwards and that others lives are not as perfect as they might look on the outside. I have learned that although my life feels like it's falling apart, it's actually falling into place the way that God wants it to. Sometimes we get so caught up in the things in that aren't going OUR way, that we forget about the blessings that we have been given. This Thanksgiving, I want to be sure that I really take a step back and thank God for all that he has blessed me with, and I urge you to do the same. 

The biggest blessing in my life is my son. The greatest feeling in the world is to be loved unconditionally. Your children love you despite what your hair looks like, what jean size you wear or whether or not you graduated college. They fill a void in your heart that you didn't even know you had until they came into your life, and they make you forget all about your life before them. To be called "mommy" or "daddy" is one of the biggest blessings this world has to offer. Not only did God give me the gift of being a mom, but he gave me the second best calling, to be a nurse. Earlier this year, at a time when I needed it the most, he gave me the best job that I could ever ask for, and that's an understatement. I can't even call it a "job", because I would do it for free. I was not only given the best job, but I was blessed with a new friendship and another little boy who has stolen my heart.  It is no coincidence that I am where I am today.

I am thankful for the clothes that fit just a little too snug because it means that I have enough to eat. I'm thankful for the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means that I am capable of walking. I'm thankful for the complaining I hear about the government because it means that we have freedom of speech. I'm thankful for the lady behind me in church that sings off key because it means that I can hear. And I'm thankful for the alarm that goes off when I wake up because it means that I'm alive. I have a roof over my head, a car to drive, clothes on my back and a family that loves me. I have established friendships this year that I would have never had the chance to make if my life had never changed. I am an entirely different person than I was a year ago, and I love who I have become. I have learned grace, forgiveness, patience, strength and selflessness. And I have a whole future ahead of me, full of hopes and dreams and I have never been more excited about all the plans God has for my life.

I know there might be someone reading this that is going through a hard time this year, and it feels like you have nothing to be thankful for. I know you feel like the only one in world going through a hard time, but I promise you're not alone. Look around at all the simple things that you have been blessed with and don't compare your life to the "outside" of everyone else's. God might be doing some "rearranging" in your life, but know that he hasn't forgotten about you. 

My hope is that you will reflect over this past year and think about all that you have to be thankful for, and that you will enjoy this time with the ones that you love and love you. Oh, and gobble till you wobble! ;) 

Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Much love, 

Brittani