I'm thankful...

I'm thankful for the heritage I have. I'm thankful for parents and grandparents that have taught me what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I'm thankful for parents that raised me with the love of attending church and sharing the Word of God together. I'm thankful for the role models they've been. I'm thankful for their never-wavering support. I'm thankful for their prayers, their encouragement, and their support. I'm thankful for their love.

I'm thankful for friends here. I'm thankful for friends who offer a listening ear and good advice to go along with it. I'm thankful for friends who come over for a meal and stay for hours just chatting and catching up. I'm thankful for friends who invite me over and make me feel like part of their family. I'm thankful for friends who I can share stories of successes and failures with. I'm thankful for friends who trust me with their own stories. I'm thankful for friends who are simply just there.

I'm thankful for friends around the world. I'm thankful for emails and Facebook messages and Skype calls. I'm thankful for postcards and letters in the mail. I'm thankful for those messages of "how's it going" or "what's new" or "I'm praying for you." I'm thankful for them sharing in their lives - sharing about their latest adventure or achievement. I'm thankful for them telling me the little details of their lives like what they're studying this week in class or what new recipe they tried or  what funny thing their kid said. I'm thankful that even though we're a zillion miles away (or so it seems), that we can still keep up with each other's lives.

I'm thankful for the Word of God. I'm thankful for an instruction manual for my life. I'm thankful for the men, women, and children whose stories are included in this amazing book. I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who gave them the words to write. I'm thankful that even though it was written a long, long time ago, it's still TRUE and applicable to our lives today. I'm thankful for the ability to read it anytime I want. I'm thankful for the help it gives me each and every single day.

I'm thankful for answered prayers. I'm thankful for a God that listens to me when I pray. I'm thankful for the countless ways He's answered prayers in my life through the years. I'm thankful that He gives us the desires of our hearts. I'm thankful that He knows exactly what we need when we need it and He'll give it to us. I'm thankful that He shows us time and time again His amazing faithfulness by answering our prayers.

And at the same time, I'm thankful for unanswered prayers. Although it sounds almost weird to say, I'm thankful that God hasn't answered every single prayer I've ever prayed. I'm thankful that, as I said earlier, God knows exactly what we need. I'm thankful that He has a plan for my life. And I'm thankful that He gives me grace and comfort and peace and patience when a prayer is not answered. I'm thankful for the lessons He's taught me through the years about acceptance and being thankful even when I don't understand the "why." I'm thankful that He's in control and not me. I'm thankful that He knows my future. I'm thankful that He's going to always take care of me.

I'm thankful for the people that have joined me in this adventure I've been called to. I'm thankful for the amazing ways God has used people to support me through encouragement, through prayer, through financial giving, and more. I'm thankful for the backing of these people, because I know it'd be so hard to do it without them. I'm thankful that God sees fit to bring these people along with me. I'm thankful that I'm not participating in this adventure alone. I'm thankful that while many of them will never visit Senegal in person, they can experience a little of this place I call home, through my letters, pictures, and stories. I'm thankful for the opportunity to bring just a little exposure to this part of the world.

I'm thankful for the calling God's placed on my life. I'm thankful that He chose ME - ME...someone who fails Him so often, someone who is by no means worthy. Yet, He did. He chose me! I'm thankful that God has equipped me for this calling. I'm thankful for the big and small ways He's allowed things to fall into place for me to fulfill this calling. I'm thankful for the students I've gotten the opportunity to teach over the past few years. I'm thankful for the gift of teaching students from all over the world. I'm thankful for the opportunity and blessing of teaching in a Christian school - where teaching about the Bible and the love of Jesus is a given. I'm thankful for the chance to pray with students and to show them the love of Jesus. I'm thankful for the chance to use the education I've received to further the Kingdom of God.