It's 4:30 in the morning and my whole house is sleeping.  I however am wide awake.  Tonight we heard about the passing of a sweet lady who was near and dear to the youth ministry Buck and I serve in.  It's hard to wrap my mind around it.  And as I do when someone I know passes away I begin to reflect on life which brought me to Facebook since it's full of reminders of memories (and this blog I forgot I had).

Tonight  I had few friends over.  As we gathered at the table for treats and drinks I couldn't help but feel blessed.  I have joked many times saying that making friends as an adult is the hardest thing I have ever done but I am thankful for that hard.  Scripture teaches us that God did not desire for us to do life alone.   He wants us to have community to share in the hard times and rejoice in the good times together.  I am thankful for my community.  To be honest there are times I am not sure if Buck and I could survive without our community of friends and family.

And since it is now almost 5 am and I cannot or should not call you all I wanted to say thank you.  Thank you to our people.  You know who you are.  Thank you for listening to our struggles.  Thank you for taking my kids for fun outings or for watching them when we needed help.  Thank you for eating with us and for feeding us at times.  Thank you for praying with us and for us.  Thank you for listening to us.  Thank you for laughing with us.  Thank  you for crying with us.  Thank you for loving our family well.  Our life, my life, is richer because of you.

So I ask you as I am taking time to reflect on life in the wee hours of the morning to do the same.  What are you thankful for?  My youth minister my senior year and now dear friend says all the time "people are more important than things."  I always believed him and tried to live by this mantra.  However, the older I get the messier life gets at times I am more aware than ever of just how true it is.  Today I am thankful for my community and my people.