Thanksgiving was over a week ago now. I realized recently that I never really took the time to reflect on what the holiday is really about—giving thanks. It’s hard to take the time to think about your life’s blessings when you’re bustling around trying to clean the house, trying to keep the cat from jumping on the counter and eating all the food, and preparing yourself for the onslaught of questions your extended family will inevitably ask. It’s even harder to give thanks when the next day (or in many cases, the same night,) people are literally trampling each other for the latest sales to get more stuff. The irony is thick.
Now, I’ve finally come to a place where I can take a few deep breaths, slow my mind and really think about the things I’m thankful for this year. It’s so easy to take things for granted. Of course, the list of things to give thanks for is endless, and it shouldn’t be just around Thanksgiving that we pay a passing thought to the gifts in our lives. For now, though, here’s a few:
I’m thankful for a family that supports this dream of mine. A family that I got to spend Thanksgiving with and will FaceTime me on Christmas when I’m 1,100 miles away. A family that will help me every step of the way on this 11 month journey, even if they don’t completely identify with it themselves. I’m very lucky to have such a strong support system of family and friends.
I’m thankful for a job that I love. I just returned to beautiful Wyoming for my 2nd winter season at Heart Six Ranch. Every day, I get to look out the window and see the Grand Tetons, reminding me that I serve a creative and powerful God. I live and work with an incredible group of people that were so excited for me when I got the call that I was accepted to the World Race. In the summer and fall, I get to spend my days outside atop the sweetest horse to ever exist, riding through this pristine, breathtaking country. The skies are bluer and bigger here, and my heart is fuller.
I’m thankful for my health. This one, to me at least, sounds a little cliche. I know I take it for granted—that I can turn on the faucet and out comes clean water, water that I don’t have to walk 3 miles for, water that won’t cause me to contract cholera or typhoid. I own not one, not two, but closer to twenty pairs of shoes that would prevent me from getting soil-transmitted diseases in underdeveloped countries. I am not one of the 31% of women in Swaziland living with HIV. My heart is heavy for the people, both in the United States and across the world, that are sick, hurting, and without the care they so desperately need.
I am thankful to serve a good, good God. I am thankful to worship freely in a world where so many innocent people are being persecuted and killed for what they believe and for the name they proclaim. I am thankful for a God whose heart is broken over the tragedies and unrest that seem to be piling up endlessly—none of this was ever a part of His plan. I am thankful for a God whose timing is always better than my own and whose grace and mercies never run dry.
Finally, I am thankful for this incredible opportunity. Never did I dream I would get to travel the world, serving and loving in ways that I can’t even fathom at this point. I am increasingly thankful that for some reason, God decided to use little ‘ol me to do His work on this grand adventure. I am thankful for every one of you that prays for me, donates to me, and follows along with me. You are all dear to me.
With love,
Samantha.
