Did I tell you that Tom is, once again, working all day on Thanksgiving? And not a measly 8 hours or even 10, no, it's his usual 12 hour day shift.

So here's your test. Choose the letter below which you believe most closely describes how I feel about that:

a. totally bummed-out and depressed
b. hot and bothered and mad
c. dreading the whole day
d. feeling sorry for myself
e. anticipating time alone cooking in the kitchen while watching our little tv in there.

Heh. The answer is e.

But you know? Up until around 2003 whenever Tom had to work on Thanksgiving, I was always a., b., c., and d. Combined. So pathetic, but I believed I couldn't help it. After all, we're talkin' Thanksgiving, The Day for families to gather together. And instead, it would be just me in the kitchen and Naomi upstairs in her room, waiting around all day for Tom to get home, both of us picturing the whole rest of the United States celebrating happily. 

(And yes, that "everybody's havin' a grand ol' time" thought is unrealistic and we knew it, but that's how you get when you're determined to stay miserable).

What changed? Oh, a million things, that's all, most of which are described in this blog. But perhaps the greatest change came about when I realized any day can be a good day as long as God is so vividly with me. What matters is that I find the majority of my joy in Him, not in perfect circumstances, relationships or things.

Wherever God is, it's the very best place to be. And wherever He is, that's exactly where I want to hang-out, be it outside where I take my walks or at the supermarket center where I run my errands or in a kitchen alone on Thanksgiving Day or --

In His presence there's fullness of joy. What more could I ask for?


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P.S. After Tom gets home from work, we will drive over to our daughter's house and have dinner there with her and her boyfriend, Carl. Naomi volunteered to make half of the meal which was a nice surprise. She's become such a great cook this past year!


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