I think yesterday was my best Thanksgiving ever.  I know that sounds odd given our current circumstances, but somehow the difficulty that didn’t go away just because it was my favorite holiday made everything so much sweeter this year.  God is ever close and I can see His blessings more richly.  I can truly find joy in this trial and that made it such a precious day.  As tired as I was last night as our evening was winding down, I was a little bit sad to see it end.  I didn’t want to let go of sweet conversation with family, amazing food (I chose my bites carefully and I think it was the best tasting turkey I’ve ever eaten…thank you, Mom!) and the delightful sounds of children playing in the background.

When our kiddos awoke this morning they were raring to get to our Black Friday tradition of hibernation to decorate for Christmas.  This was the first year of my life I was not the least bit excited to tackle that project.  I told them we could slowly get some Christmas things out, we probably were not going to get to everything, and that they were going to have to help mommy a lot!  Did.they.ever!  They were such big helpers!  At one point I was in my spot merely supervising as they happily ran up and down the stairs to bring this up and take that back down.  I took quite a few breaks to rest…but they were happy to join me and snuggle.  In the end…we got much more done than I ever could have on my own in a much shorter amount of time.  I hope they are as eager to help next year!  As they say many hands make light work!

While this is true, I like my husband’s  saying…Team work makes the dream work!  It applies to more than just decorating for Christmas in our case.  I am so thankful to God that has used these precious children to minister to me so sweetly in this difficult time.  It’s hard on them to have a sick mama, but they have fervently prayed, cheerfully served and they too have learned that they can find joy in the trials of life.  Today I give thanks to our gracious God for showing our family how to rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again!  Rejoice!  Philippians 4:4