I’ve been meditating on this phrase the past few days and what it can look like right now in my life to be thankful with what I have and for it to be enough to not desire anything more. There are many ways to do this: listing the things you are thankful for, spending time with people who point out your blessings, spending time with those who have more and realize items are not a substitute for relationships, spend time with those who are lonely and realize how blessed you are, hanging out in lower-income places, using what you have and enjoying it, praying, reading, taking delight in simple pleasures.
Since it is Thanksgiving, I often think about thankfulness in relationships to food. Food can be a difficult one since it is often linked to body image and there is a tenuous relationship there. At the gym this week the instructors have constantly been saying, “you need to work out because you will eat a lot on Thursday.” Yuck. I don’t like this association. I want to exercise because it makes me feel healthy and strong, not to counter my enjoyment of food or feel guilty for a wonderful meal I eat once a year.
For food, it has also been a hilarious series of events the last few days/ weeks, because I haven’t been grocery shopping once in a month. Not once! Granted, I was feasting on homemade food while visiting my brother a few weekends ago….but that doesn’t mean I was shopping! I’ll never be able to get away with this when I have my own husband and kids to feed, but living the single life is great for experiments like this. For breakfast, I finally used up my steel cut oatmeal that has always felt like too much work, but now that there is no food in my house, oatmeal is looking awesome. For dinner, it’s amazing how creative I can be with my three canned goods and rice and quinoa and frozen entrees stored in the freezer earlier this year. It’s been like a Spring Cleaning except I’ve been eating my way through it. Granted, I get a free lunch daily, so that gives me my fresh fruits and veggies for the day, which is something that would cripple me into the grocery store whether I wanted to or not.
Anyway, eating everything in the house has been like Lent before Easter or Ramadan before Idul Fitri (or in Arabic Eid-al-Fitr). Mostly bland, basic food for days has been great prep for me to be more thankful on Thanksgiving for great food. I will really savor the stuffing and homemade pie. I’m also thankful that we have things like canned veggies available at the grocery store for people like me who might not be canning their whole yard once summer ends. Cans that can sit on my shelf and when I need them, voila! Instant gratitude!
A quick list of other things I’m currently thankful for:
-my ladies in California that I’ve seen TWICE this year
-my four years working with the high school group at church
-meeting my niece
-in-person meals and conversation with my brother and sister-in-law
-babies
-pregnancies of friends
-singleness
-opportunities
-classic novels
-swimming and spinning
-a paycheck
-music. So much good music discovered this year.
-Elmbrook Church
-my awesome Bible study group
-free lunch at work
-letters, real letters with stamps and messy handwriting. So good.
-pictures
-my wonderful roommate Beth
-Pilates
-Indonesia
-Siri
-flannel sheets
-chopsticks
-hot showers
-steam rooms
-pedicures
-Tuesday mornings with Ashley
-eyeliner
-sweatpants
-my car with its sunroof
-Sunday lunches with friends
-instagram
-kind text messages
-Apricot Ceylon Tea Lattes
-Apricot Ceylon Tea Lattes
-Psalm 37
-Krystal and Nereo’s success story of obtaining a visa….
-answered prayers! So many this year! (Best method ever is taking a notecard, putting a few things that could have real answers, dating it and just praying that card every day while reading the Bible. It has changed my prayer life the last two years.)
-TWO DAYS OFF WORK!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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