Thankful!

Since moving to Haiti I have become acutely more aware of all the blessings I have.  As I logged on to Facebook today, I saw post after post of people listing what they were thankful for.  Most said friends and families, a few said their health and the health of their loved ones.

What I didn't see was that people are thankful for the hospital and medicines that allow them to be healthy.  Or the car they drive to get to the doctors when they are sick.  The shoes they wear on their feet so they don't have to walk barefoot to get medical care.  Nobody was thankful for the cupboard of over the counter meds they have in their home that they can take every time they don't feel good.

I take these things for granted just as much as the rest of us.  I have never appreciated enough how much of a blessing it is to always have a bottle of tylenol in my house, car, backpack, and purse incase a headache ever comes on.  I've never really had to suffer through it.  Not only do I go to the doctors when I'm sick, but I also go for preventative care as well!

These things are just part of my life.  They are normal.  Why would I be thankful for something that everyone has, something that wouldn't make sense not to have.  That is until you meet someone who doesn't have it.  Until you meet lots of someones who don't have it.  Until you meet lots of someones who don't even understand what it is when you try to describe it.

So this year, I'm going to do it a little different.  Yes I'm thankful for my friends and family.  I'm thankful for my health and the health of my loved ones.  But, I have SO MANY more blessings than that.  Today I'm going to share some of those with you.

-I'm blessed to have shoes
-I'm blessed to have quality clothes
-I'm blessed to have tooth paste, tooth brush, soap, and other hygiene products
-I'm blessed to have a bottle of tylenol and a bottle of vitamins in my house
-I'm blessed to have a bed to sleep on
-I'm blessed to have blankets to keep me warm
-I'm blessed to have electricity
-I'm blessed to have the most amazing son and husband in the world
-I'm blessed to have a fan to cool me off on warm nights
-I'm blessed to have more food on my shelfs than I could eat in a month
-I'm blessed to have amazing technology at my finger tips
-I'm blessed to have clean running water.
-I'm blessed to not have to walk miles carrying a five gallon bucket of water to cook, clean, and drink with.
-I'm blessed that my son doesn't have to carry water as his daily chore.
-I'm blessed to have a vehicle to drive so I don't have to walk every where
-I'm blessed to have a University education
-I'm blessed to have the freedom of religion
-I'm blessed to have a house that doesn't leak every time it rains
-I'm blessed to have a door that locks when so many others don't
-I'm blessed to have recreation
-I'm blessed to have access to quality health care that doesn't require me to walk several miles and sit in line for hours or days to receive.
-I'm blessed to have a house full of toys for my son to play with
-I'm blessed to have the ability to read and write my name
-I'm blessed to have money saved aside for the "rainy day"
-I'm blessed to have the opportunity to live and work in Haiti doing Gods work daily

I'm Blessed, I'm Blessed, I'm Blessed.  This list could go on forever.  Anyone who's reading this is more blessed than they know.  We have so much to be thankful for.  I don't know about you, but I personally am not nearly appreciative enough of these blessings.  Even living in Haiti and working everyday with people who literally have nothing, I still always want more and more.  I still don't get it.  I'll never get it.

Today, being a day of Thanksgiving, it's easy to be reminded of all the blessings we have.  Tomorrow will be much harder; but what would our life look like if we remembered these things daily?