Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

It has been an exhausting and emotional past two weeks, but scattered with bits of joy here and there.  Now, I am settled down at home (that is, my true home, not my dorm home) and I am at peace for the first time in a long time.  It's quiet here and all the familiar sounds make my heart at ease.  All the stress and fears of yesterday are diminished as I hear my parents voices coming from the kitchen.  I am happy when I realize that so many of my friends who have been going through so much more than I have are also feeling this peace.  They are on their way home now as they read their books on the train or plane and there are those who have found themselves in the cars of newfound friends.  

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it is an answer to prayer for so many of us.  We started the year off strong, but it progressively got more difficult.  As soon as mid-terms hit, we all lost touch with reality and were suddenly caught in a whirlwind of homework and events and our only moments of peace were found in the few hours we slept.  As we prayed together and cried together, the only thing we could think of was that Thanksgiving was on its way.  And now, it's finally here and we are finally home.  I don't live far away, only three miles, but there are times it feels like there is an ocean between us.  Times when I realize that I can't cry in my mother's arms and need to face it on my own, but this is the way that we grow.  

It's been a big year for me full of tears and troubles, but my blessings outnumber those trials a million to one.  I have a family who loves one another and enjoys to spend time together every Sunday.  I graduated high school with honors and achievement.  I have a group of friends who will support me in anything I take on.  I have gone to a wonderful college for two months and have already grown so much.  I have Christ by my side every step of the way.  When I look at all of these blessings, why do I have reason to cry?  

It is so easy to get caught up in our troubles and forget what Christ has done for us.  He has given us hope in hopeless times and it is selfish not to accept that hope.  We are intended to carry out Christ's love and hope, not dwell on the things that make us unhappy.  As I sit here listening to my music in my warm bed, I can't believe I was ever so unsatisfied.  Tomorrow I will be among the ones I love and that is enough for me.  That's what Thanksgiving is about to me: It's about being with the ones you love.  That's what the entire holiday season should be about, not stressful shopping and gifts, but Christ's love and the ones that we care about.  

So, thanks for Thanksgiving, it's already been a wonderful time to catch my breath before I head in for the push to the finish.