I am thankful

We sat on the porch of the house in Blairsville, enjoying the scenery of mountain tops covered in, what looked like, beautiful patchwork.  The season is changing thus bringing alive the most brilliant of colors for us to admire.  With nothing for us to do and no where for us to go, (just what we asked for by coming up here) our mouths did all the moving.  As the hours went by, one by one, we all shared our stories of tragedy and triumph.  The details of each were different, of course, but as the emotions flowed, I saw the common ground in which we all stood...thankful.  Reliving some of our most painful memories, hot tears streaked our cheeks but this time, for me anyway, it was more out of joy than out of sorrow.  It was with the ability to see with a God’s eye view.  I had mourned for a great long while and thought I would never find a day where I would feel normal again but indeed it approached about two months ago and here I sat, able to tell my story in thankfulness...thankfulness...sorry, I have to say it again...thankfulness.  It's very foreign to me that I could actually be thankful for the near death of my marriage but in reflecting on it, on that porch, with two of the most amazing women I have ever met, I could honestly say I was thankful.  For that very reason, I was able to tell my story and remember my pain with gladness.  In talking with my friends, I soon found out that they too were thankful for what they had gone through as well.  It was the worst of times in our lives but, by choosing to walk with the Lord through it, we saw that it became the best of times.  We crossed a line from understanding our Abba’s love for us to actually experiencing, feeling, knowing and growing in that love.  I can honestly say that had it not been for my “near death experience”, I would not know the Lord like I do today.  Had it not been for the tragedy that my marriage faced, I would not have the opportunity to invest in the lives of others the way God allows me to now and had it not been for walking in total darkness, I would have no clue what the ladies beside me had felt and my responses to them would be cold and rigid.  I am thankful that my life fell apart two years ago.  I am thankful my husband and I never gave up our fight.  I am thankful God has fully restored us and I am thankful that He has made me thankful.