Thankful

For the sake of trying to get in a better place I need to think back over the past few years and be able to see ways that God has shown up for me and ways that I have been blessed.  Sadly, it seems to get more difficult everyday.  Not that He isn't showing up, it is just the frame of mind I'm in makes it difficult to recognize sometimes.  But there are things.  Things like moving us to this area.  This was not the house of my dreams and not at all what I was looking for or in an area I ever thought about living - but it was exactly what we needed and where we needed to be.  It's low maintenance with lots of storage and lots of privacy, a great place for the dogs and God knew that I needed to find my next door neighbor. He also knew that she needed to find me.  We needed each other.  She lost a son to a drug overdose 10 years ago.  She never talked about it and was somewhat stuck in her grief.  She had some of the same issues surrounding her son's death in that she could not openly discuss it and felt that she was deserted by friends and family over it and was expected to just get over it and move on.  It had been eating her up for 9 years when we finally started to talk.  Here she has found a safe place and I too, have found a safe place in her. 

Our church.  It still seems impossible for me to believe that at this age I could settle in that quickly and become so close to the people so fast.  We love the church and I look forward to going every week.  We now go on Wednesday's too and we enjoy a special relationship with the preacher and his wife.  I never thought we could ever fit in at another church after being where we were for 23 years.  I was on committees.  I had a regular job at the church.  We had keys to the church.  Here, I participate in the ladies ministry - my husband is on committees and is doing the job that our deacons handled at the other church and he has keys to the church. It is amazing to me how my husband is taking such an active role here.  It is like - this is where he always belonged.  He has come out of his shell and clearly this church is home to him.

I have more people here that I did there after 23 years.  When I moved here I thought I had only my best friend.  But I also have two granddaughters and their families, three cousins, my oldest and dearest friend and two new close friends and my sister is 37 miles closer than she was.  And my husband that never talked to anyone - now knows all the neighbors by name and walks over and talks to them??? 

We have doctors close and I have actually found a Physician's Assistant that I really like.  A good dermatologists, a really good Mohs surgeon and general surgeon, and one of the best hospitals and level one trauma center, and number one heart center is 13 miles from us.  A second newer hospital 9 miles away.  I found a counselor that is helping me after almost five years.  Now all we need is a new dentist that we really like and we have everything we need. There is shopping, doctors, hospitals, library, restaurants, post office, antique shops, a huge recreational lake and a college are all within 15 miles of us with no traffic.  As difficult as it was to wait for God to show us the right place - He absolutely did.  It was not what we were looking for and it was not where we were looking to be - but when the time got right, He brought us straight to it.  That is definitely something to be thankful for.