Thankful and Thoughtful.

As I approach this week and all that it holds (a test (boo), THANKSGIVING, friends in town, and the Iron Bowl to name the big events), I am already giddy with excitement. There's not much more I love than hosting parties, laughing with friends, and delicious food - and this week I get to do all of it!

However, as I was perusing my usual blog reads, I couldn't help but be struck by my friend Callie's post. (Tip: the little link means you should stop reading and go there now). Callie was a roommate of mine in college, and I mentioned her situation earlier here. Long, super crazy story short, Callie is now in remission from brain cancer. (Yes, that's right. And yes, she is about to be 28.) Her bravery in the post above is one of the things I love so dearly about her, that and her faith that found new depths and life through her ordeal.

In her post Callie also mentions our friend Katherine, who suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke a few years back. (And yes, you should again stop now and read about her miracle at the link above). While both Callie and Katherine's stories are the kind that shake us to the core, what stirs me the most is not just what happened to them, but how they responded.

These beautiful women, who faced medical, emotional and spiritual challenges I can't even begin to fathom, were not embittered by what they endured. But rather they weathered the storms of treatments, doubt, and despair, and found themselves rejoicing in the sweetness of the God who gives new life. I think Katherine's husband Jay said it best in a recent speech at our alma mater:

"We have become less concerned with healing, and more concerned with our relationship to the healer. And we are less concerned about deliverance  and more concerned about our relationship to the deliverer."

Tears fill my eyes as I read this again, and my heart so desperately longs that each day of my life would echo his words. This week is absolutely a time to be thankful, because goodness know how much we have been given. I am overwhelmed this season in particular at the new and abundant blessings before us, but in this, I don't want for a second to miss the heart of He who gives. My prayer for myself and you as well this week is that the remembrance of our blessings would not only compel us to give the deepest thanks, but move us to a greater love and intimacy with the Father.