Thanksgiving is a time of year where we give thanks for all our blessings and get together with family and friends to share a meal. It’s a special time of year but Thanksgiving actually should be every day. This time of year will always be special to me. It was one of the darkest moments in my life but it was also one of the most renewing times.
The year of my divorce was one of the most awful years of my life. Everything seemed to spiral out of control all at once. The year I lost my marriage, my home, my car, my money, my children were displaced and I was homeless. I had a few family members that would allow me to stay with them but not for long. Thanksgiving of the same year was the worst for me. I was all alone and severely depressed. I was staying with a relative that was going to our hometown for the holidays but didn’t want me to ride with them. My children were able to go but not me. They wouldn’t allow me to stay in their home while they were gone so I had to take the last bit of money I had and get a hotel room.
I didn’t understand why my family would be so cruel and why God would allow me to go through this. I felt I had lost enough. What else was He going to take from me? In that moment of self-pity, I began to reflect on my relationship with God. I hadn’t been very good to Him. I wasn’t making our regularly scheduled meetings anymore. I began to wonder had God been waiting for me and I failed to show up for Him. Yet, I was calling out to Him for help. Because God is so graceful and loving, He saw fit to answer my cries. At that moment, He told me it would be ok but I was in for a long journey. I began to learn that as long as I kept the faith, God would see me through.
Was it easy to have faith? No way. But at that time in my life, I didn’t have a choice. When you are at your lowest, faith is the only thing to get you through. My faith in God carried me through even tougher times and in the end, I was triumphant. I am forever grateful for all that God has done for me. I will continue to give thanks every single day. I am thankful for a lot. What are you thankful for?