Be Thankful - Challenge Accepted!

Welcome to my new blog. As some of you may or may not know, I used to blog pretty frequently as an undergraduate. I loved it and I have let too much in my life get in the way of blogging more often.

I have decided to challenge myself a bit. There have been so many moments in my life this year where I have been tested, especially in my faith, to cherish the gifts of life. Being a young adult and being single can feel awfully lonely at times.

If there is anything that I have learned in this last year since graduation, it is truly to cherish and be thankful for the best moments life gives you. There are so many moments in life where God gives us a choice - to chose these small tokens of His affection or to chose to believe what the world wants us to believe about ourselves. I think I have been swallowed in both directions, yearning to find light in the seemingly dark times that have been my life.

And so now the challenge is: Find something to be thankful for everyday.

It's not going to be easy. It's going to be hard. I think about some of the darkest days I have had over the last few years - looking for things to be thankful for at that moment - and it's difficult, even now.

But this challenge is not to make life more difficult, but to really to just focus on something that is positive and beautiful.

To begin, I'm sharing a favorite poem of mine, that I used to read everyday when I was on the road to becoming Catholic:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those
who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
And they can become your blessings.

***

And so friends, I encourage you to be thankful also in this journey with me. As Barney would say, from my favorite show, How I Met Your Mother, "Challenge Accepted!"