Not Thankful...Take A Closer Look

We are fast approaching Thanksgiving, the day when you gather together with friends and family to celebrate and show thanks for the blessings in your life. I have mostly enjoyed Thanksgiving, especially the excuse to eat and eat and eat. But this year it is too easy to focus on all the ways that this year has been one of the worst of my life. This year I spent nearly a month on the couch with the flu which is uncharacteristic for me. All of grade school I only missed half a day because of sickness but this year I had 2 two-week periods of serious illness. To make things worse, I graduated in May and have yet to find a job (and have over $20,000 of student loans to start paying back!). One of my best friends moved out of the country. I had my heart broken by someone very dear to me. And I was in a car accident that ruined my car and left me without a vehicle for more than a month.

So how can I be thankful after the year I've had? Simple. I just have to change the way I look at things. I was much sicker this year than I've ever been, but I have been blessed with great health for the majority of my life. I might have graduated during the worst economic time possible, but I graduated. I had the opportunity to go to college and have experiences I wouldn't have otherwise had. Plus, I have had time to really think about what I want to do with my life and to enjoy some hobbies I gave up while I was busy studying. My friend moved away but I spent four great years with her in college. We also spent three weeks together this summer going on a road trip before she left. With her being out of the country, I now have a good reason to get a passport and see part of the world I might not otherwise see. I had my heart broken, but I loved. I found out that the old saying 'It's better to have loved and lost than to never loved at all' is true. I was in an accident that left me without a car for more than a month. Yet I could have been in serious condition in the hospital or possibly dead if the accident had occurred a fraction of a second earlier.

Yes, it is easy to think of all the ways that you might have been disappointed or of all the things that have gone wrong. But there are often positives to every negative. They might be hard to find, but I promise that taking the time and effort to find those positives will make this Thanksgiving a special one.