Thankful Thursday: I’m thankful for the mistakes

Last week Sarah @ The Fontenot Four said something on her vlog for Andi & Ashley's Girl Behind the Blog series that I can’t stop thinking about.

Sarah was talking about what it really means to give thanks.  

She reminds us how important it is to be thankful in ALL things…to be thankful for the hard times…the really challenging times.  

She challenges us to think about that particular hard season we may be in right now and ask ourselves what we can be thankful for in that situation.  

She reminds us that God has equipped us to get through that particular situation and to come out on the other side.   

give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God's will for you 

in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

I think often that I’m thankful for my kids, my AWESOME husband, my family & friends.  But what about the things that got me to this place?  

What about the “mistakes” that I made along the way?  Perhaps those “mistakes” got me here.  

Where would I be if that road was easier or I did things differently?

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I think back to my first love.  He taught me what being loved looked like.  I think back to my broken heart when it ended.  I am grateful that I learned that true feeling even through heartbreak so I recognized it clearly when I met the man who would become my husband.

I am grateful for a…shall we say…unsavory character for a boyfriend a bit later down the road.  He showed me what I will never stand for again and what to look out for as my daughter gets older. 

I am thankful I came home from the “typical” college experience and went to night school instead.  During that time I learned what it was like to balance working in an adult office environment, study for college classes and pay my own bills.  I know that if God forbid I ever need to “do it all myself” again I am capable.

Moving away from everything and everyone I’ve ever known when I married my husband was one of the hardest if not the hardest thing I've ever done.  I thought I was independent and strong before that but what I realized is that it is easy to be independent and strong when you are surrounded by close friends and your entire family.  What proves it is when you can persevere when you feel more alone than you ever have. 

Thank you God for all the hard things…they brought me to this moment with this life with these people.  

I am so beyond thankful.  

I am so beyond blessed.