Celebrating Thanksgiving

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For many of us, there are times when we are in certain phases of life and the shadows and darkness around us challenges we are facing so easily clouds and blurs out everything bright and beautiful so much that we do not feel a need to be thankful. I’ve gone weeks without having anything to be grateful for; I just feel like there’s no extra ordinary thing that has happened in my life for me to be specially grateful without realizing that even the tiniest things around bring reasons to be full of gratitude.

I know thanksgiving has passed and we don’t even celebrate thanksgiving here but who says you can’t have your own day of celebration? So in the spirit of December (xmas +new year + I didn’t have a birthday post + a new chapter altogether), these are the things I’m grateful for:

I’m grateful for God. Everybody attributes their life and existence to a supreme being but not everybody actually believes or accepts the sovereignty or superiority of this being. I’m grateful because I know God (in my little way) and I love Him very much. Life is so much easier in understanding, acknowledging and accepting that there is a God above and no human can replace Him no matter how much anyone tries. I’m also grateful that He shows me love much more than anything I can ever show to Him and even when I mess up big time, He never stops loving me. I’m forever grateful that He doesn’t punish me for defaulting in giving Him back the 110% love He has given to me.

I’m grateful for family. Apart from me, there are just 2 other members of my immediate family and it sucks that you can’t quarrel with any of them for too long (joke). I have argued and at different times even totally disliked both of them, I’ve been furious with them and even made certain decisions concerning them, but family will always tie themselves to your cloth. Even if you use a scissors to rip off the part where they are tied to your garment, they will look for another part of your garment to tie themselves to. Is it until you rip all your clothes off before you realize they are going nowhere? I know what it feels like to be missing family so I’m eternally grateful for those that I have.

I’m grateful for forgiveness. I mess up a lot, big time! and I wonder how people tend to look beyond my offences, forget the heartache and hurt I caused and move on with life. I didn’t have it so easy with forgiveness because I just couldn’t bring myself to look past the hurt, but gradually, I began to understand that forgiving a person of any wrong is not so that invisible chains will drop off the person’s hands and legs but so that you that is forgiving another will experience peace and freedom from clogging your brain with hurt and wrong doings. I admit there are still times I struggle with forgiveness; I don’t intend to make it appear like child’s play but if one person can do it, then why can’t I or why can’t you?

I’m grateful for a job. That I wake up each day with somewhere to go to and something to do is a blessing on its own. I never really understood the depth of unemployment until recently. Y’all remember that Dangote and bus drivers story? That’s the kind of thing that makes me grateful. I know there’s a lot of money involved in the job but still… It’s easy to complain about bosses and deadlines and difficult tasks and pain-in-the-butt clients and horrible colleagues when you haven’t stayed jobless. I imagine the number of people who will be willing and ready to take my job even with less pay.

I’m grateful for friends (I know you were expecting this). If I ever have a next life, it will be filled with friends. I do not have many friends so I’m very thankful for the few I have both physically and on blogsville (and wordpressville). Many of you bloggers feel like friends even though I have never ever seen most people. These are people that fill my life with joy and tell me the truth at all times; friends who listen to and scold me and friends who are just there when you need someone to talk to. You guys are the friends that help me connect with purpose and inspire me to be a better me; the ones whose actions challenge and propel me to action in more ways than I can count. Who says you can’t discover and develop serious cyber-friendships?

I’m grateful for laughter. It is not just enough for something to induce laughter or be funny; a person dealing with major issues cannot afford the luxury of laughter. From the blog posts from you awesome people, to twitter, to craziness at work and at home and to friends; I have had one reason or the other to laugh everyday. It’s refreshing, relaxing and truly, laughter is the best medicine. When I say laughter, I mean the type that makes you bend over and hold your stomach, the type that brings out tears from your eyes and sometimes even makes you throw up. I could use that kind of laughter everyday.

I’m grateful for music. If music has ever healed you, then you will understand what I mean. Music has been a wonderful companion to me. Sometimes, I think it’s because I always care more about the lyrics of a song than for the beat, tune or melody so when I listen to a song, I’m more concerned about what the lyrics mean to me than how fast or how slow I can dance to the song (this is why I’m not a big fan of Naija music). I’m most especially grateful for rock songs, for Casting Crowns, for Jeremy Camp, for Francesca Batistelli, for Switchfoot, for The Fray, for Rascal Flatts, for Anthem Lights and for Hillsong United.

I’m grateful for sports. There’s a sense of belonging that comes with following and actually loving any kind of sports. So for Football (not American football), and for Basketball and also for Tennis, I’m thankful. I’m especially thankful for C. Ronaldo (*wink*).

I’m grateful for gadgets. Seriously, I keep thinking how difficult life will be without basic gadgets like a smartphone (not Nokia 3310) or computers or even things as basic as flash drives or head phones. As you may already know, I’m a techie (whatever that means to you) so as much as I don’t make myself drink gari to buy a gadget, I’m thankful for the ones I  have and hopeful for the ones I don’t.

I’m grateful for love. There’s so much more I can say concerning this but the fact that I’m loved in many ways is enough to be thankful for.

I am grateful for life. I wouldn’t be thankful for all these as a dead person. So for all these and more; and for God who has for now blessed me with all these, I’m thankful.

What are you most thankful for? Please share :)

P.S: I’ve been feeling very melancholic for a while now and kinda lost my will and inspiration. I stayed away because it was hard to put my thoughts in words without passing on the melancholy to y’all. I’m back now though and I think it's only appropriate to be back with this. Massive thanks to everyone that checked on me. God bless y'all.