Choosing to Be Thankful in 2009

Like many of us, 2009 has been a rough year. My husband was laid off so we moved across the country for a job from which he was again laid off eight months later. Without a job in sight, we packed up our belongings and headed back across the country to stay with family until we could find employment again. My poor children have moved so much in the past few years that they don't seem to remember where they are when they wake up! Yet, we do this to survive and must go where the work is available.

After one stressful month, we were blessed with a job for my husband. While we are thankful and grateful, it does not pay enough for us to all of our bills, yet every month we seem to scrape by one way or another. We spend a lot of time in prayer, which is a good thing anytime, but especially in these difficult times. My health prevents me from working a traditional job but I hope that will change in the near future. Cancer is a scary word anytime but in the midst of financial chaos, it is even more so. We were blessed enough to sell our home and did not have to foreclose but we lost every penny. So here I sit in my run down rental that we can't afford, with debt from medical bills, bundled up so that we don't have to turn on the heat.

So I choose this time to be thankful. I am thankful that my cancer has not come back no matter how fearful I have been of its return. I am thankful that despite the flu and bronchitis, my children are sitting here healthy with insurance in case that changes. I am thankful for my husbands love and for family that always seems to come through in a pinch. When I look at my life from a thankful perspective, I see that I truly do have so much to be grateful for. Oh, one more thing I am thankful for, knowing that this time will not last and brighter days are on the horizon. Happy Thanksgiving to all and may you find your inner grateful nature.