Thanksgiving

I saw a great idea a couple months ago for Thanksgiving. It's a "Thankful Jar," and each year, you're supposed to write down something that you're thankful for and put it in the jar. It would be so neat to see how your list changes from year to year and to one day be able to look back on a life full of so many blessings.

We can have a life overflowing with goodness, but as soon as one bad thing comes along, we (I) tend to focus on that. I have a wonderful life. That's all there is to it. However, in the past year, I have felt completely hopeless and disheartened at times. My heart has been flooded by my own tears, and I have felt myself drowning in sorrow all because of one bad thing. Now it is one horrible, gut-wrenching, wouldn't-wish-on-my-worst-enemy thing, but it is only one thing. My quality of my life can and should be defined by so much more than infertility. Since I do have this one bad thing that takes up so much time and emotion, I decided that this would be the perfect year to start a "Thankful Jar." With a life full of so many wonderful blessings, I think now is a good time to be reflective and give thanks for those things.

I wanted my list to have three of the good and wonderful things that I have especially valued this year on it. I think each year's list should be reflective of that year. With that said, here is my list for 2009...

1. I am thankful for a husband who is patient and positive and supportive. The love that man gives me blows my mind every day. He patiently loves me day in and day out, through crazy hormones and tearful ends to cycles. He stands strong for me and encourages me through days when I feel like I've been completely broken. I love his quiet perseverance and endless devotion to what he loves and believes in. God blessed me richly by making me his wife.

2. I am thankful for God's protection during these tough economic times. Karl and I both have great jobs to go to every day that enable us to have a roof over our head, food on our table, and clothes on our back (all in great abundance). The thought of how many people who have lost their jobs and homes this year is truly heartbreaking. People's spirits and dreams have been broken. Lives haves been permanently changed in sad ways. God blessed us though. Although there are days when I question my own sanity for being a kindergarten teacher, the truth is I get to work in a beautiful school every day with precious children who I am hopefully impacting for the better.

3. I am thankful for my doctor and all she is doing to help me become a mommy. She has brought me a long way this year. Heck, let's not forget that she grew my uterus over an inch this year! Although I'm not yet pregnant, she did get me ovulating, and that was a big step for me! She is knowledgeable, determined, and caring. She sees the pain in our hearts, and she cares about it. Month by month, she prays with us and devises plans unique to our case. She is a good doctor, and I am thankful to be her patient.

Happy Thanksgiving!