Thankful Thursday

*First, off--I know, I know... it has been too long since I have been blogging... but I promise to be better!*

God has been revealing to me lately just how incredibly blessed I am.

Awesome job.

Amazing Husband that proves God knows just what he is doing. I am pretty sure that guy was created especially for me.

Fantastic Family.

My pups.

So much to be thankful for.

But I want these Thankful Thursdays to be of the not-so-obvious kind.

The kind that make me think.

Put me outside my comfort zone.

Be thankful for things I don't give second thought to.

This week I am going to be thankful for the hardships.

Don't get me wrong, hardships suck.

But they also created me into who I am today.

& especially who Jeremy and I are as a married couple.

I heard it said over and over that the first year of marriage is the hardest.

I dismissed that considering we had been together almost 9 years when we got married.

But I shouldn't have.

It was hard.

Getting to know each other on a whole new level is difficult in and of itself.

Throw in the mix what stresses we went through last year (trying to sell his home & not having our own place until mid 2011, being just one item), it was rough.

Don't misunderstand me... there was way more good than bad.

But the fights hurt.

The mean words to each other devastated.

All because we were stressed.

We were learning to communicate.

Learning to be one.

Fast forward to now...

We are stronger than ever.

I can honestly say we are more in love and closer than we have ever been.

More so than I ever thought possible.

If God had not forced us to STOP and look at ourselves,

We would not have gotten here.

I am glad we went through those hardships.

I didn't understand why it was so hard at the time.

But now, it makes sense.

There is SO much you learn about each other and SO much you need to learn about yourself to make yourself work as a married couple- as one.

There isn't really much that can prepare you for that but prayer and God.

Now, all that being said...

There are a lot of hardships that simply do not make sense to me.

But I just know this,

you have to make the best of whatever situation God has given you.

Learn from it.

Grow from it.

Allow it to teach you what God is wanting to teach you.

Hardships can be turned to good, if you allow them.

& remember, God NEVER leaves you.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)