Giving Thanks

Hey Yall and Happy Wednesday!! I  know it’s been a few weeks but I’m here now and I have something to say…well actually I have 2 things to say lol.

So we all know that the holiday season is upon us which means that Thanksgiving and Christmas or Kwanza or Hanukkah are right around the corner. It also means that  holiday/ seasonal depression are here as well. YES, holiday/ seasonal depression is very REAL. There is a large amount of people who suffer from it and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I admit, I’m not the biggest fan of the holidays myself. Yes, I enjoy eating Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners (who doesn’t) with my family, but there is also a part of me who gets down and out during this season as well. The time change always throws me off and for some reason Christmas just isn’t as fun as it used to be when I was a kid. I love to Christmas shop, especially Thanksgiving night and Black Friday because I’m a sucker for a good sale but that’s probably the only thing I look forward to now. The last 2 years I’ve spent Christmas Eve in my pjs with my best friend and her family. And while I love being with her family because they are just like my family too, it does make me feel some type of way. I often wish that my mom was still here and that my sisters and brothers and I had grown up around each other. Even seeing my cousins and their families is a little hard sometimes but it’s something that I’ve learned to cope with and get through in my own way. There is nothing wrong with you for the feelings that you have, but during this time of year when it may be a bit more deep, surround yourself with people and things that you love and enjoy. Go see a Christmas light display, go ice skating, go to the mall and get lost in the crowd, go to a Christmas party. Go volunteer and feed the less fortunate or bring some joy to the kids. Just get out and enjoy yourself. Don’t sit around and let those feelings eat at you. Go enjoy the holidays and make yourself some new traditions.

1 of my best friends lost his mom this past Friday and while I was searching my brain and asking God to give me the words to comfort and encourage him, I began to think….death has been all around me this past year. It started with losing a very close friend in October 2017 and its been 1 person after another since then. There have been family members that I never expected to say good-bye to, friends and friends family members, classmates from college and now even 1 from high school. When my friend called me the other morning at 2:40am and said his mom was critical, I felt awful, like there was nothing I could do being an hour away except pray. As I talked to him while he was on his way to the hospital, I also began to pray for his strength. After he told me that his mom had passed, I began to pray for his comfort and peace. But I also began to GIVE THANKS. I gave thanks to God for a life that was given and a life that was taken away peacefully. I thanked God for the time that my friend and his family had with his mother. I gave thanks for his mother being the woman that she was and the impact that she left on us still here on Earth.

See even in the midst of tragedy and not being able to understand certain things, we still have to give thanks. Every morning when I wake up to see another day, I give thanks to the Most High for even allowing me to be here. When my days at work are hard and my commute is long, I give thanks to the Most High for my job. When I get down and out about missing my mom, I give thanks to the Most High for my mom having the opportunity to birth me. Sometimes I forget though, I forget from whom my blessings come from. I get busy and forget to give thanks for life and life more abundantly. In ALL that we do, we should give thanks.

What are you thankful for right now? The 1st thing should be life. Next should be health and strength…not just physical health, but mental and emotional as well. It doesn’t matter if your health isn’t 100% in all areas, the fact that you even have a portion of it is enough to give thanks for. Family, friends, loved ones and even helpful strangers are also on the list. Jobs, sources of income, school and education are there too. EVERYTHING is SOMETHING to be thankful for, no matter how big or small. LIFE is something to be thankful, the fact that we are here is something to be thankful for. I know things aren’t always the best, but be thankful that they aren’t the worst either. Everyday is another opportunity to give thanks, right our wrongs and try to make things right. This life that we have isn’t promised to us forever, it isn’t even promised to us for tomorrow. Make the most out of every moment of every day and thank GOD for another opportunity to get it right.

Well, that’s all for me for today. As always, I hope that this has inspired, enlightened and encouraged someone. During this holiday season please take care of yourselves mentally and emotionally. I know many of my followers and readers connect with me on social media as well so if you ever need anyone to talk to, my DMs and email are open. This is an important time of the year to not let loneliness and/or depression set in. Get out and live life. And as always, please feel free to like, share and comment and even hit the follow button, I love the feedback you all give. Until next time, lots of cyber hugs and kisses. Remember, somebody out here loves you and so do I.

TiaraB.