Truly Thankful

This Thanksgiving Day I want to acknowledge all the many blessings I have in my life. Many times in the past, I have given brief thought to it, then moved on to the feast. Today is different, because my world is different. Today I want to think deeply and with an attitude of complete gratitude to God for all he has given me.

I am thankful for family and friends who have stood by me in some very difficult times. I have had so much encouragement and support as I start my new business and career. I didn't choose the timing, God did, but I feel so fortunate to have the moral support of so many people.

I am thankful for the ability to keep learning even as I hit my mid-50s. I am grateful that I enjoy learning new things because now I have to!

I am grateful for God's many blessings of a loving family. I delight in my grandchildren and my children. I marvel at their wisdom, humor, playfulness and maturity.

I am grateful for the gift of humility, because I have certainly had plenty of it lately. I am reminded that God brings me to the places I need to be and sometimes those roads aren't very smooth.

I am grateful that God sent his son Jesus to us and that he chose to die for us. I cannot imagine making that choice willingly, knowingly except to save my own children. When I try to appreciate that, I am awestruck by the vast love God has for us and my connection to him as a child of God - a family member of Jesus.

I am thankful for a roof over my head, food on the table, love of family and friends, beautiful sunrises and dramatic sunsets. I am thankful that I have been given the chances I've had to do so many amazing things.

So today, on Thanksgiving, I hope you, too, will pause and truly count your blessings. Then, enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

God is leading me to a new path

I love what I do professionally. I have spent the last 25+ years doing corporate marketing and I've learned a lot. I enjoy the challenge of finding ways to communicate the value of my company to its customers. I almost always worked in the non-profit world because I felt the values of those companies better matched my own. But I confess that in the past year or so I was beginning to wonder if I was truly using my skills to advance God's will in the world. Always before, I felt a connection between my work and my purpose. Then, I was suddenly out of a job.

I assessed my skills, my age, my desires and prayed. I decided to try opening my own consulting business which is a long-held desire of mine. I asked God for support and to bless my work. I have been so blessed with success within a few short weeks. I am not making the same amount I did before in the corporate world, but I am finding clients who value my knowledge and experience, as well as my skills. Plus, I am happier and living with far less stress.

Today, I pitched a company that gives God the credit for the success it has had. And then I knew - this was God's plan. I don't know for sure that this company will hire me, but it looks good. And if I work for them, I will have the comfort of knowing my work will be helping a company that believes in doing God's work.

Not every client will be so closely matched, I guess, but I felt an inner certainty today that I was on the right path. I'm hoping that my prayers will continue to bring me into contact with companies like that, and work that I can believe in.