Friends, in the 21st Century...

Friends, in the 21st century are certainly discovered in a different way aren't they? I have a few great friends who are physically around me but I also have a ton that I have never met in "real" life. I also have some who have moved but other than missing the physical hugs, they don't feel so far away. This is a great thing!

I get so many messages a day in my in-box that tell me how strong I am, how good my heart is, things like that make me blush. However, if it wasn't for these friends, I'm not sure where I would be in this journey. I have had to realize that mentally, I will never understand, in this lifetime, why things happen the way they do. Please also realize that I'm lumping select family into the friends category, the family that checks in are also my friends. I could expand on this further but I think everyone knows where I'm going with that thought... you know, the whole "you can't pick 'em" thing.

God knows what I need to hear, every single morning. After yesterday, when I crawled into bed last night I prayed for a little more... understanding, emotion, energy... just more. So, I thought it was pretty great when I had my daily e-votional (get it!?!) in my inbox. The title was "Good Morning, Lord!" The point was instead of waking up and thinking "Good Lord, Morning?!" you have the choice to wake and think "Good Morning, Lord!" It went on to talk about how we can take "bad" things that happen to us and sulk about it and be bitter or we can rejoice in that our trials are being used for something bigger. I narrowed in on Lamentations 3:22... "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail."

I want to feel. I think that's normal. Yesterday was a weird place for me as you know if you've read that entry. So today, I'm thankful. Thankful for my friends, for my family, for God's Word smacking me in the side of the head if I need it to... thankful that without much work at all today, I'm going to see an improvement in this messy living room! I'm thankful that my body seems to be healing itself for real this time, thankful that I have a beautiful old wooden end table to knock on as I type this, thankful that I haven't lost my sense of humor or my sense of compassion. I'm thankful that I did end up getting outside, with that "extra" hour of daylight and get the daisies moved as well as that poor dead hydrangea out. The hydrangea was a bit of a mental issue since it was planted after my grandpa's funeral almost 20 years ago. I just decided that we'll plant something else special in that place.

I am thankful that I can choose to be "better" instead of "bitter"... and that's all thanks to God and my friends. Yes, today I'm thankful...