Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for.  I have a wonderful husband and son who I can hear making chocolate in the kitchen.  The smell is nothing short of heavenly, second only to hearing them laugh and work together.  I have a modest home that will soon host close friends.  I have pets that seem to know just when I need them to snuggle in.

And this year, I finally have peace.  For all the turmoil that has been stirred up, today I have peace that I haven’t known in many years.  This year, I’m not pretending that everything is good.  This year, it really is.  My heart is lighter and my conscience is free.

I am thankful for the journey.  And the people thathave helped me get there.  That includes my readers.  Thank you for being so supportive when everything that I thought was important in my world came apart.  I learned that the reality underneath was so much better than the comfortable facade.  I learned that the real me is so much stronger and cannot be intimidated by cowardly lies.  I have faced my demons and come out ahead.  The race is not yet over, but I know that I will win.  Thank you.

As is true when times get hard, I have learned who is and is not truly my friend or family.  Blood is not always so thick.  Sometimes it is, but it’s not a guarantee.  I have many friendships that are thicker.  Some I didn’t suspect.  Some I always knew would be there.

And most of all, I thank God.  Without God, I have nothing.  He has provided the friends and family that have remained loyal.  He has provided the home that is so full of love.  And I believe that He will work in the hearts of those that have chosen to attack me.  He knows the truth.  And He has given me that peace that I haven’t known in years prior.

There is food on my table and love in my house.  I could ask for nothing more to be thankful for.