It is a blessing...

In a time when so many people are struggling and just trying to get through I thank God for the life that we are able to live. It is such a blessing to be able to buy Christmas presents for the girls, the family, and each other and not have to worry about whether or not we are going to be able to pay our bills. It is a blessing that we are able to make our payments each month without worry and that we have a savings account that still has money in it. In these trying times that our country, state and community are in, I think it is very important to remember what a blessing it is to be able to do the things that have always been taken for granted. I give God the credit for allowing us to be able to live the life that we are able to live. It is not by chance that we are able to put the amount of money that we put in the offering plate each week without ever really even noticing that it is gone. God will give back if you give to him. It wasn't too long ago that our lives were not exactly what they needed to be and that we were wondering around lost. Not literally but our lives were lost. At the time we may have not realized it but now, looking back I realize that in that time I had no real meaning. Of course, Jeremy n I have always had a pretty good relationship and life together but it wasn't until fairly recently when we decided exactly what kind of life we wanted that everything really came together. We had a choice to make and I thank God that together we made the decision that we did. We decided that we wanted to get our lives right and start the kind of life that we could actually be proud of. The kind of life that our children could be brought up in that we could be the role models that we both wanted to be. We gave up a few things, made a few changes and GAINED sooo much more!! I know that without doubt God has allowed us to get to where we are and the things that have happened to us in the last little bit have been souly because God has given back to us. You can call it chance or good luck, good fortune, whatever you want to call it but I call it a BLESSING! A blessing that God has given to us.
This time of the year I often find myself thinking about how hard it has to be for those who cant buy gifts for their children or even give them a warm meal on Christmas day. I think about how terrible and embarrased those parents must feel and can't help but to feel so grateful for all that I have. I will do what I can for others in this time but I will never again take for granted what I have and will never give myself credit for the things I am able to do.