More than I deserve

So I've got some catch up to do with this 21 days of thankfulness. I've been thinking about what I'm grateful for every day - sometimes with the help of the hubs who picks the times when I'm bitching about life and bills to ask me what I'm grateful for. Gotta love it. But I have been bad about writing all of them down in this place. I think keeping a record of some of the things I'm grateful for in this season will be useful in the future for the times that I forget (or choose not to see) all the wonderful things that God has blessed me with. So without further adieu...

5. More than enough tasty food to eat. We haven't had to go to a food bank thus far and man, am I grateful. Have you seen the food they hand out there? What are you supposed to do with dry beans, a giant can of grapefruit juice, and a bottle of canola oil? (No joke, that's the exact contents of a bag that I've seen handed out.)

6. God's timing. It's just so much better than ours. And I love that most times, you don't get it until it's over. Hindsight is 20/20 - and the view is phenomenal.

7. A family in which love is the bottom line. I've discovered some absolutely horrible things about my family in the last few months, but through all the garbage, love has endured.

8. My husband. He's an absolutely amazing man. He is incredibly humble. (I didn't know until a couple of weeks ago that he's won multiple prestigious awards for his jazz performances - and he's a classical musician!) He's super smart and silly and affectionate. I laugh really hard every day with him and that makes me a lucky, lucky girl.

9. God's love. I was driving back from an interview the other day and I got a little teary as the profound nature of God's call for us hit me. The Bible *repeatedly* says that God's most important mandate for us is to love him and love each other. Do you get how earth shattering that is? I got a glimpse the other day and it was beautiful.

10. Massages. I beg aforementioned amazing husband for them nearly daily. They're just so good. I love that God created our bodies to benefit from other people's touch.

11. Creative outlets. I love that I can get lost in painting or writing and it makes me feel better. It feels good to express myself.

12. Crocheting. I'm grateful to Katy for teaching me. And I'm grateful to have a way to bless my friends and family with gifts when I couldn't afford to do anything else.

13. LA. I used to hate it. And there are parts of it that I still do. But it's in this city that I've grown in some incredible ways. Any sort of comfort zone I have has been challenged and that's been a very good thing.

14. Every hardship over the last 2 and a half years. Every unpaid bill, every creditor calling, every fight with my beloved, every death, every leaky window, every awful soul-draining job, every gang shooting... Because who I am now and who I was on our wedding day are two very different people. And while this one is a little more banged up, I like her better and I think God does too.

15. Peace. And the opportunity to choose it even when the list above is happening.

16. Music. It has the ability to transport my soul and gently turn my sorrows into dancing.

17. Room to grow. Cause I'm not even close to being done yet.