Times to be thankful

I just like many of you have, plenty of things to be thankful for. I could fill this blog post with many different things to be thankful for. Thankful for my health, my homebased business, my friends, my family ect. However, I really want to take a different approach to being thankful. I want to thank God for experiences from my past that have helped to mold me for the better however, at the time of the experience I could find nothing positive about it. Although, it's easy to thank God for all of the positive things in life, it's the valleys that make us stronger that we often forget to thank God for.

For example my dad's death. If you have been reading my blog since the beginning or if you have went back to the beginning then you obviously know that was a very difficult time for me. To be honest with you I still think about my daddy just about every week of my life. That was one of the most tragic things that could have ever occurred to me at 9 years old. I never thought that I would get over that and I am not certain that I ever truly have. That experience although negative at the time; it has had some of the most positive effects on my life. My dad's death taught me at an early age that we are never promised a tomorrow. Such a simple phrase but most people will live a lifetime and never quite understand what it means not to be promised a tomorrow. Knowing that seeing the sun rise another day is always a priveledge has often driven me not to put off things that can be done another day. Things such as starting a business, taking a vacation, investing, looking for love, and remembering to balance needs of today with needs of tomorrow. For example, I have always tried to find a happy medium between saving every penny for a retirement that may never come, and spending every dime today and missing out on a retirement that may come. I work hard to achieve the life I have always wanted but, I make sure I take time out to have fun, or to travel. If I don't take that time out now I may not have the opportunity to take it later.

Another example, would be when I failed out of nursing school. It happened twice and nothing that I am proud of. However, it happened and thus affected my life because of it. I am thankful for that experience because it taught me to gain focus and to refocus my efforts in life towards my goals. I learned not to give up. I had to swallow my pride and reapply to school each time. I had to overcome feelings of failure, face my own weaknesses and move forward. I had to grow up and gain maturity about my goals. I had to make decisions about my life, I sacrificed a life of going out with friends and even a girlfriend or two so that I could stay focused on my goals of graduation. In fact I met Carmen towards the end of my degree and our friendship progressed partly because I was online chatting during free time because I didn't have any other social life. My social life had suffered greatly at that time because I could not balance a social life with school. At the time it was a very negative experience but I thank God for what I have learned from that experience. I also thank God for Carmen as she came from that experience as well.

I challenge you this Thanksgiving day to look back upon your life at the valleys that you have experienced. Is there anything about that experience you can look back on and thank God for. Has it affected your life in a positive way or have you learned a positive lesson from it. If you can, I ask that you leave a comment to that effect so that others reading my be inspired by the valley's that you have overcome in your life. Make yours a great holiday.

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