Thankful Thursday

There is so much going on in the world right now, namely the catastrophic flooding in Houston and my home of South East Texas. My brother and his wife had their home take on water, but they were one of the lucky few who didn't sustain irreparable damage. The water receded quickly, and my brother was able to enter their home and begin tearing up soaked carpet.

People are homeless now. Their homes have been destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. It has been one of the hardest things to know I am up here in Utah watching all of this unfold, unable to help except for monetarily, and I wish more than anything I could be on the ground helping these families who have lost everything. 

Texas needs our prayers, more now than ever, and they need our support. Anything you can do, whether it's donate a $1, or use Amazon Prime to ship goods to shelters and people accepting donations to take to shelters, please if you have any prompting at all, act on that. They are all in desperate need of the essentials...water, toilet paper, baby formula, diapers, etc. I urge you to do something, anything, and send all the prayers and love to the good people of Texas. 

When things like this happen, it makes me feel humbled that I have been given so much in my life. My family are all down there dealing with the aftermath of this storm, but, all are safe and alive. I am thankful for that.

My therapist told me to fight my anxiety by finding things to be thankful for every single day. I thought she was crazy but it hit me that she was right...if I replace the anger, hurt, anxiety with little things to be thankful for, suddenly my heart feels so much lighter and my burdens more bearable for the time being. 

She is helping me to re-wire my brain, and I think she may just be able to get through to me after all. 

I am so thankful for the men and women out there doing their all, serving their fellow man, giving what they have left to one another. It doesn't matter if you are white, black, or a spotted zebra.......we are humans and we need to take care of one another in times like this. 

It has been a wonderful reminder to me to see past the things that aren't "right" in my life, or cause me anxiety and heart ache, and try and focus on the things that I do have. I have a roof over my head, healthy children, health insurance, and a wonderfully supportive family. I have my sense of humor, which admittedly I feel like I've lost a part of as of late, to help me cope with life and all it's curve balls. I have friends who are there for me at a moment's notice. I love them dearly.

I have access to technology that allows me to keep tabs on Hannah's blood sugars (as it alarms to me that she is low right now). I've got a dopey Labrador that keeps her safe and lets me know when things are not right. He happens to be in my face right now, which is making this blog typing thing rather difficult. He's amazing. I love him.

So many little things are good in my life. I have to focus on that or I will never be able to stop the cycle of unhappiness that I've lived in most of my life. 

Join me in thanks for whatever you have in your life to be thankful for. I know it's hard, and it's not something that sounds fun in the heat of the moment, but it will transform you.

I mean, right off the bat, you have me as a friend, so.......check that off your list of things to be grateful for.