thank God for thanksgiving!

so it seems the last time i publicly gave thanks was back in august.  sad, i know.  pitiful, even!  i'm going to be brutally honest, so if you aren't prepared for it, stop reading now.  the truth of the matter is that the past few months have been pretty tough, and the really ugly truth is that i haven't been very thankful.  as i write those words, i feel like a spoiled brat.  i know that in the grand scheme of things, my life is not that hard.  i know that i am surrounded by God's beauty and grace, but knowing that intellectually and feeling that deeply and strongly are two very different things.  

in my last post, i promised to blog more about yoga and running.  the problem is that since school started, i haven't been doing much of either of those.  i haven't been doing much of anything other than working.  and yes, it is working for a great cause and it is great work, but at the end of the day, it is still work.  and i am tired.

the pope has declared this the year of faith.  we have been challenged to think about what this might mean for us.  for me, i have decided, it is a year of holding on tightly to my faith even when life is rough, even when everything i know is challenged, and even when it doesn't feel good.  it is also a year of discernment, of checking in with God and with my inner-most self about this life i'm living and whether or not i am living it as authentically as possible, in a way that gives life to both myself and others while at the same time giving glory to God.

which brings me to the title of this post.  i am thankful to God for many things, but at this moment in time, i am thankful for thanksgiving.  i am thankful for the opportunity to spend a few days "just be-ing" with my family, resting instead of working, being surrounded by God's creation and able to see it for all its grandeur.  i am thankful for time to stop and smell the pumpkin pie and listen for what God might be trying to tell me in the quiet moments that sneak their way in to this wonderful holiday.  i am thankful for the forced opportunity to realize that there is oh so much to be thankful for.