Remember What You’re Thankful For

By Guest Blogger Jennifer Mearns, author of the blog The Undomestic Goddess

As a mom, it can be hard sometimes to remember all the wonderful things you have in your life when parenting small children, keeping up with their various schedules, and keeping a house running at the same time. I work from home, part-time and I always feel like I can’t keep up; I’m not doing a good job at anything. It’s easy to look over the fence and see what others have finding ourselves lacking.

I’m making a conscious choice to remember all of the wonderful things I do have that are not necessarily material.

I’m thankful, first and foremost, for my husband. He works hard at a job that doesn’t pay his worth but allows me to stay home with the boys. He puts up with my lack of housekeeping skills-not completely uncomplaining, but nonetheless, I’m appreciative. He’s a great father to our boys and he makes me laugh every day.

I’m thankful for my family living close and able to help us with our boys. A lot of people aren’t fortunate enough live near family and it makes it very difficult. I’m thankful for those rugrats that live in our house. They make me crazy but I love them ridiculously. My four-year-old clone, my three-year-old middle child who can be sweet and infuriating in the same minute, and my blue-eyed baby, boys all of them, delight me and make me furious daily.

I’m thankful for my church family. My first true church home, Southeast Baptist in Greensboro, has been a haven, a community, a family for me. They love us and our children. You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? They are part of my village.

I’m thankful for our home, which, while usually not the cleanest, gives us shelter and keeps us warm–or cool. I’m thankful that I’ve made a home in Greensboro, a place I once mocked because someone within my hearing called it a booming metropolis and I thought that was the funniest thing I’d ever heard. I’m from near Charlotte.

It can be hard to remember these blessings. I get it. Life gets hectic and it’s difficult not to be envious of people for what they have that you don’t. You just have to remember that you may not know their story. Their life may look perfect in pictures but nobody’s actually is. Social media is the rose-tinted glasses through which you allow others to view your life.

So, this Thanksgiving, be thankful! Remember the good things in your life and thank God for them, if you believe. If you’re not Christian or don’t believe in God, thank the people who have made a positive impact in your life, be it your parents, spouse, children, in-laws, whomever. Be thankful.

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