Gratefulness

The Gwynnes have a lot to be grateful for again this year. We're grateful for the basics like having food on the table each night, a family to spend time with and love, a good church, and, of course, each other. This year, I thought I would focus on a few more specific things that we are grateful for this Thanksgiving 2010.

A New Car

This time last year, our Chrysler Sebring was on its last leg. It seemed like Sweetie Pie/Mad Max (Dave gave my car a more masculine name when it became his car, too) was in the shop at least once a month, and we were in that uncomfortable time of debating whether it was worth putting all that money into a deteriorating car. By January, God blessed us with a great deal on a brand-new Hyundai Tucson. We weren't even looking at new cars because used cars offered more value, but this deal was just as good as one we'd get on some of the used cars we'd liked. It has been wonderful having a dependable car, especially now that Dave has a long commute.

Seeing Dave's Parents

Because Dave's parents still live in Scotland, we are unable to see them as often as we'd like. They have spent some of their vacation time to visit us the last two summers. We're grateful for their sacrifice to come to this humid climate in the middle of the hottest time of the year just to spend time with us. This year, we took them to St. Joseph, Michigan, making them walk in the hot sun down to the beach, only to follow that up with the scariest thunderstorm we'd ever experienced on our way home. They were certainly introduced to the sometimes frightening Midwestern thunderstorms this year. Whenever they come, Dave's mum spoils us by making dinner many nights and treating us throughout the visit. We are grateful for the trip they made to see us once again this year.

Vacation

It seems that, the older we get, the more we appreciate our vacation time. I grew up going to the family vacation spot, but now that I'm older, I enjoy just being able to sit and relax without having to find the next thing to keep me busy. This year, we went with my parents, and we had another great week. Dave discovered his love of fishing, and I took in plenty of beautiful sunsets watching him and my dad finish up the day with a few more casts. We're grateful for the time we can indeed get away instead of having to settle for daydreaming about it.

Dave's Job

At the beginning of this year, never in our wildest dreams would we have guessed that 1.) Dave would already be a certified classroom teacher this school year, 2.) Dave would be hired for a teaching job in July, 3.) Dave would have to quit that job for reasons beyond his control in September, and 4.) Dave would find his dream job and be hired for it 3 weeks to the day he resigned from his previous position. During that tumultuous time between jobs, I kept these verses as my promise: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV). God has proven himself true once again through providing Dave's job.

A Healthy Heart

Image courtesy of Tutorial Park

At the beginning of this year, Dave had to take me to urgent care because my heart constantly felt like it was beating out of my chest for a couple of days. The doctor ran an EKG, which came back normal, and told me I was most likely stressed and needed to slow down. Everything seemed fine until a couple of weeks ago when my doctor was concerned by my higher-than-normal heart rate. She ordered a Holter monitor to track my heart for 24 hours, just to make sure everything was okay. Being a twentysomething cardiac patient (albeit outpatient) was a scary prospect, but I went in to the hospital and got hooked up for a day. My results came back normal! I have never thought more about that involuntary muscle or been as grateful for it as I have this year. I'm grateful that God was with me the entire time, that my husband took time off or spent his days off taking me to the doctors, and that I had friends and family lifting me up in prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for the different blessings you've given us this past year. You have been our provider, our deliverer, and our healer. Thank you for providing a car and a job for Dave. Thank you for delivering us in the midst of stressful situations. And thank you for healing my body when the stress of life would affect my health. Amen.