We are so thankful for where we are today. We are thankful for a beautiful, giggly, excited, amazing, beautiful little girl. We are thankful for every day we have with her. We are thankful for her beauty, her singing, her laughter, her smile, her cheekiness and her love. We are thankful for her surprises and her creativity.
We are thankful for provision, for wisdom for support, and for being blessed. We are thankful for everyone and everything in our life at the moment. We are so blessed!
We are thankful that God conquered all, that through His stripes we are healed, we are thankful that all of us need healing, and that there is only one true healer. We are thankful for what we have been through and where we are now! Yes, it is difficult to say we are thankful for difficulty and challenge, yet its when we look backward, see how far we have come, see the journey we have been on and realise that without difficulty we would not be where we are now.
We are thankful for the journey that God has led us on, we are thankful for the challenges of having bad news, and being able to brush it off and continue to fight. We are thankful for the people we have met along the way, the times we have been encouraged, and been able to encourage others. We are peaceful in knowing that we have done all we can during this testing time, we know that God has done it already, and critically know that every day we have is a gift.
Why then is there difficulty in our lives? Just as our new baby boy need challenges each day to grow and learn, to do things on his own; we too need challenges for God to lead us toward our required destinations, each of us with our own path, and challenges, each of us as special in our talents and creativity, special and unique creations.
We are thankful for the amazing support from our family and friends, for the doctors, nurses, researchers, and writers, we are so thankful for the support around us, for people who listen and support, we are thankful for all of you out there, who actually care, who actually love.
We are thankful for each and every day we have with Kez, this journey has taught us that life is so precious, so delicate, and its critical that we stay focused on the most important parts, the people around us, the time we have together, the quality time.
Most of all, I am thankful that I am loved…
Love me tender
When I was younger I heard about love. I knew my parents loved me, that God loved me. And that was that.I then heard about the story of the loving father and the prodigal son. The son disrespected the father, took his inheritance – spent it all on wild living, then ended up in the pigsty. He decided to go home, and then from a long way off his father spotted him, and organised a party. He had the best food brought to the table, and the best ring for his finger. After hearing this story. I started to understand love.
I heard about a God who sent His son to die on a cross, so that my sins, my foolishness, would no longer exist, so that I could have a relationship with Him. That God loved me so much, that he did this – for me! After understanding this, I understood more about unconditional love.
When I met my wife, and spent so much time together, I realised that I could love, I think.
When I became a dad for the first time – seeing a little sweet face, small innocent smile and hearing a beautiful bundle giggle, holding her in my arms with a tear in my eye. I started to understand that I could love and what love was for me.
When I was in hospital holding my baby girl all night, while she cried in pain, I wanted to take her pain away. I needed love.
I wanted to stop her pain, I prayed, and cried, and held her little body, I wanted to do anything I could to help her. I cried out to God to set her free, to put me in her place, I cried all night holding her in my arms, wanting everything to be put right. I think I now know what love is.
I am so thankful, everyday, thankful for the difficulty, thankful for the breakthrough, thankful for the freedom.
At this time of year, I just want to say that all of us need to realise that life can change in a day, a moment, in a phone call, in a result, in the blink of an eye. No one knows the circumstances that will befall us in the days and years to come. The most important thing is to understand what is most precious to us, and to refocus our lives. We are thankful for being forced into a place where we could open our eyes, to see the truth, to challenge our thinking, our mindsets and redesign our life to prioritise that which is most important.
Have a blessed day!