Thankfulness sometimes seems to flow out of us and other times it is a choice. I am thankful to experience the Biblical implications of this picture, which is probably my favorite. Though the future is unknown to us we trust that God is in charge of the timing of everything we will experience as we bring Joy into our family. I am thankful for the opportunity to parent all of my children as they grow up. As we prepare for them to be spread out between both sets of grandparents I'm grateful for helpful and generous parents that can care for them when Joshua has surgery Monday. I am thankful that I live in country where my child can go get surgery he needs. I am thankful that no matter how hard the surgeries are on us we always look back and can see God working in our lives. I often wish that I could have Joshua as my child without the seemingly endless speech and doctor appointments and without him having to undergo all these surgeries. But then I remember that without those things we wouldn't have met some of the most amazing families I am priveledged to know. For those of you that have climbed the Great Wall you know that it is not the easiest set of stairs to climb. What some don't see in the above picture is that it took that little girl work to get there. It reminds me that our lives and our children's lives are at times messy and hard but in the end God can redeem any life and though the road may be hard it is always worth it. I am so thankful for the hard times and good times. They have made me so much closer to the Lord and in the end nothing else matters except our relationship with Him!
