It is always nice to be "home" even though I want to live far away from my hometown. The longer I stay away from Birmingham, the more I appreciate my hometown. Last night, I drove to get onto Interstate 459 and realized how much I enjoyed growing up in Birmingham. When I arrived, my sis, Beth, and I met for a coffee visit at the Summit right next to my parents' neighborhood. Then we had Chinese Ming's take-out dinner at my parents' house - just like old times! My mom, sis and I started cooking and baking for the next day's Thanksgiving feast just like old times. Not surprisingly, my sis and mom went crazy and danced around the kitchen for no reason. No wonder why Dad stayed away from them. This morning, my sis and I got up earlier to run on the lovely Lakeshore Parkway near my alma mater. After our run, we came back home and turned on TV to watch annual Thanksgiving parade, ate homemade pumpkin bread, looked through store catalogs for Black Friday sales, and drank strong coffee just like old times. I thank God for my sweet parents, my incredible sisters (Juju and Beth), a stable home in Birmingham, wonderful memories since I was born, my amazing friends who taught me a lot about what life was about, my "second" family in Robertsdale, FBCR church/friends, my work in Mobile, my precious preschool students (even though they get in trouble sometimes), my place where I can sleep in peace, difficult times that drew me closer to God, DTQ ministry/WaveSTAFF friends, my dependable Honda car that has been faithful to me (she'll be 10 years old next year!), my boss Jen and aides, God's endless grace and redeeming love, my life tests to challenge me to stand firm alongside with God, coffee to keep me awake every morning, friendly folks in Robertsdale, Bob & Kathy Ayres, Matt & Shannon Reynolds, countless great restaurants in Birmingham (you'll understand better after a couple of years living in Mobile), seven22 group in Pensacola, gorgeous beaches in Alabama, breath-taking mountains in Oregon, slow-paced lifestyle in Robertsdale, God's faithfulness...I just have to thank God every minute for everything. Also, I thank God for bad circumstances that I really don't want to happen in my life - but God uses them to teach me more. Isn't God good?
"You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." -Psalm 118:28-29
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
2 comments:
great post! love you.
Awesome reflection - I enjoyed reading your entry!
May God bless your day!
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