Thankfulness

So today is Thanksgiving (well it’s technically Friday morning now and I should be sleeping, but it still counts), and I was just thinking about the crazy amount of things/people I have to be thankful for right now in my life and I thought I’d share some. I feel like I am more thankful now for some of the things I’ve had for a long time than I was previously just because I know how blessed I am now. So here goes…

I am extremely grateful for my family. My parents and brother and sister and sister in law are all just phenomenal and I love them. They have taught me so much and have been there for me through the roughest times in my life. Also, I am more thankful than ever for my extended family too. My grandparents are awesome. They care so much about me and would do anything for me and I appreciate them so much. And my aunts and uncles and cousins too are really great too.

Next is the group of friends from home. Even though I will go a long time without seeing them, whenever we get together, it’s like we were never gone. So much has happened since we graduated a short year and a half ago, but I still care about each of those friends and always will. I have had some of those friends since pre-school like Kurtis and we will always be best friends. And others that I’ve only known for a short time but am already becoming really good friends with like Q-bert.

Then there are all my friends at school. I am so thankful to have found such great people at this school; it really is a blessing. I always have fun with my roommates, who I have the strangest but funniest conversations with. The guys on the basketball team are all awesome and fun to hang out with. Bryce, Austin, and Steve always crack me up. People I sorta knew but am getting to know better this year like Addison and Ben Betscher. And new friends that are “basically number one at everything” like Chelsea. 

One thing I am so thankful for right now, possibly more than ever, is playing basketball. I knew last year that I missed playing and that I wanted to give it a try this year, but I had no idea how much I needed this! Playing this year has pushed me in so many ways. I think I have gotten tougher and fought through things that I wouldn’t have been able to do in the past. And I am having so much fun with this team. I love the guys on the team and I love playing a sport that I love all the time. There have been times that it has made me sooo angry, but every second of that and all the hard work I put in has been worth it. I’m so thankful that God has kept me healthy enough to play this year, and I pray that he continues to watch over me so I can keep playing!

There are plenty of other things I am thankful for right now, like MVNU, and all the different opportunities I have had, and other things that I’m probably just forgetting, but this is just the beginning of the list. I just wanted to let those people that I appreciate know that they are a blessing to me. So thank you all for being a part of my life! 

Discipline

Hey folks, sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been crazy busy lately with basketball and classes and everything else, but I want to keep getting my thoughts on the page so they aren’t just stuck in my mind all the time. So here…

Sometimes in life, we think that we should do whatever we want to do all the time and get whatever we want if we can help it at all. However, I think this is not always best for us. There are times when it is truly best for what we desire to not happen. These times are important for us to realize life is not always fair and it can help us grow into the realization that pain is just a part of life no matter what we do to avoid it and we will just have to accept it eventually. Another reason these times are important is because sometimes we need to willingly give up one thing in order to attain something potentially better. Giving up a good thing for the best thing.

Usually the best things in life do not just fall into our laps. Often, we must work for these things. Things like love, dedication to anything, and relationships all take effort.

If someone is dedicated and passionate about a sport, they will work and work to get better at it so they can reach their full potential of the player or athlete that they want to become. Conditioning and working hours and hours in the offseason can get quite annoying after a while, but you won’t have the skills and toughness you need if you don’t discipline yourself to put in the work when it is hard.

In the same way, relationships and love take discipline and hard work. You may have convinced yourself that you are with the right person at the right time, but it may not really be that way. God may have other plans for you. I think we are good at convincing ourselves that we know what we are doing even though we may have no idea what we’re doing at all. I know that’s how I was. I’ve been in a relationship where I thought I knew it was best for me. When it ended, I was shocked that I could have been wrong, but now I know what happened was for the best. I have grown because of the situation so much and I am now thankful for the pain I had to experience and am a better person because of it. You just have to discipline yourself to know that whatever happens will work out for the best in the long run. God always has a plan. You have to discipline yourself to let the best thing happen instead of settling for something that will temporarily satisfy you.

Patience is one area of discipline that can be extremely hard, but also necessary. There are certain things that we want in life that we think we are ready for. It could be a relationship or some sort of reward or anything. But when we think we are ready for it, we think we should have it now. Sometimes, those things don’t happen for a long time, but they happen when we truly are ready. I think God has a bit of a sense of humor when it comes to timing that we just don’t understand. But his timing is always right.