It's Thanksgiving. I figure since I've put off writing for so long, now is a good time to start up again. So much has happened, I don't even know where to begin. So, I think I'll just skip the update and move along to the giving thanks part.
I am so thankful for my Jesus. Oh, Lord, where would I be without your perfect grace and mercy? I am at a loss for words to express the gratitude my heart feels toward you. You are my strength, God, and I praise you and thank you for the way you have continuously held me in your hand despite all my sin and the destruction that often wreaks through my life. You alone are faithful, Lord, and I thank you for your power and your faithfulness. Thank you for my life and for all of the following.
I am so very thankful for my family. Although there have been some incredibly rough patches and things are still not where they necessarily should be--and probably never will be--I am so thankful for the people who I call family. I'm not just talking about the people I am related to by blood but also the people who have shown me the love of a family such as Leslie, Becca (my best friend), Rachel, Sarah and Joel. I am so glad that the Lord put people in my path that could offer me love and care when I needed it most from an unconventional place. I am also thankful for the Kopp family: Tim, Kim, Quentin and Lauren. I am so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with them this summer and am eternally blessed by the pure love each of them showed me.
I am thankful for my friends. God has blessed me with an amazing number of friends throughout my life and I am grateful for the way each and every one of them impacted and still impacts my life. I am thankful especially for those who have stood by me when I have been prideful, hateful, self-centered, rude, vicious, destructed, and low. Thank you for your faithfulness as a friend. Thank you for never leaving me.
I am thankful for my best friend, Becca. Where in the wide world would I be without you!?! God has so blessed my life with your friendship, Bec. Thank you for never, ever leaving me. Thank you for fighting me when I pushed you away and tested your faithfulness. Thank you for putting up with me through all of the garbage I dragged myself through. Thank you for showing up on my doorstep that December night when all I needed was someone to say "no". Thank you for being my best friend--the best friend I have ever had. Thank you for being such an awesome picture of who Jesus is in the way you love me and care for me. (And thank you for taking care of me when I have the flu...since I can't take care of myself yet.)
I am thankful for my Joseph. :) Babe! It has been two and a half years and everyday is more exciting than the last. I am so blessed by your love, Joe. Thank you for fighting for me. Thank you for showing me how to fight for what you want. Thank you for sticking with me through all of the garbage. Thank you for loving me the way you do. Thank you for your steadfast desire to honor God through our relationship and your strong self control. I am so grateful that God chose to bless my life with a man like you. You are so much more than I deserve and I am so glad to be yours.
I am thankful for my schooling. Although Ball State has some seriously messed up processes and procedures, I am so thankful for the fact that I can get an amazing education there. I am so excited that God has put a desire in my heart to teach and I'm glad He's giving me the means to get there. I know that Ball State is just a starting point and I can't wait to see where it leads me to next.
I am thankful for my home(s). I know that so many people in this world would be willing to open their doors to me and offer me a bed--or at least a pallet on the floor. :) I'm so grateful to have so many people who I feel at home with. I'm especially thankful for my parents' home. It is a beautiful, warm, cozy home in which I can relax and I'm so glad. I'm also especially thankful for Becca's home where I lived this past summer. I'm so glad that a family I hardly knew was willing to open the door of their home to me and offer not only a bed but a room for the summer--free of charge--to help me out when I needed independence.
I'm thankful for so many things...it's really impossible to list everything here. Although I think I could continue for hours, I think I'll stop here. Perhaps I'll take a moment to talk about more thanks later in the day...after I go to sleep and wake up again.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
For what and to whom are you thankful this year?
Love,
Katie
