A day of thanks

I am thankful.

I am thankful for my friends. Not just because everyone always says they are thankful for their friends, but because for some reason God decided to bless me with the best of the best. They have been there for me through everything. They always know the right thing to say, but they also know when it is best to not say anything at all. I cannot express how secure I feel knowing that whenever something goes awry, all I have to do is pick up the phone and I'll be reassured everything is going to be alright. 

Lauren, David, Joy-Marie: I'm thankful for you and I love you more than I can express. 

(even if you don't read my blog heehee)

I'm thankful for my youth group at St. Catherine. They have pleasantly surprised me with how incredible they all are. My one worry when we organized the youth group was that no one was going to show up. Well, they certainly proved me wrong. They hold me responsible in how I act and what I say. Even though God is working through me to bring them closer to Him, they have brought me so much closer to Him as well.

I am thankful for priests and religious. Their lives are such a powerful witness of love for Christ. I am utterly in awe of anyone who seriously discerns a religious vocation simply because they are willing to answer such a beautiful calling to give up their lives for God.

I am thankful for those everyday things I take for granted - my health, my body, my senses, being able to open the closet and know I will have something to wear, always having food to eat, access to a car, a good education, a home, my own bed, a reliable cellphone, the ability to walk, being about to sing well, each and every heartbeat...

I am thankful for my family. Even though on a daily basis my siblings drive me absolutely insane, they are still incredibly wonderful. I have always said family brings out one's true self - and I'm reminded of that every time I snap at one of them. But beneath the bickering and shouting, we always manage to show our true love for one another. I have been blessed so abundantly with such a beautiful family. My parents are loving, kind, selfless, forgiving and everything else I want to replicate if I'm called to be a parent someday.

I am thankful for my Faith. Without God, I would be nothing. Without my beliefs, I would be going no where in life. Without my Church, I would have no support system. I would not be the strong, confident, Catholic, young woman I am today without the Faith I have been brought up believing and eventually made my own.

I am so incredibly blessed. For this, I am thankful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!