Grateful For The Hard Things

​Novembers leave me grateful for flannel blankets, apple orchards, first snows, and cozy novels. I woke up this morning before the sun did, but my socks were warm and coffee smells especially amazing when all the rest of the house is asleep. Chocolate is delicious, my favorite song just surprised me on shuffle play, God didn't have to make ice sparkle but He did anyways, bury your nose in the pages of a brand new book if you want to smell adventure... 

It's the little things that make life incredible. Especially the hidden ones.

But this year, along with all the goodness of life, I want to be thankful for the hard things.

I want to be grateful that coffee dates with friends are few and far between, because that makes them all the sweeter. I want to love my novel, despite it's flaws, because my imperfection only makes God's love all the more amazing. I want to smile when someone tries my patience, laugh at myself when I make mistakes, and embrace the difficulties of every day instead of trying to avoid them - growing is never comfortable, but becoming more like Christ is worth it. 

Maybe the kitchen is covered in flour and my vision of perfectly frosted cookies has turned into a hopeless sugary mess, but my siblings are smiling. 

And speaking of messes... how is it that despite my selfishness, all my mistakes, all my short-lived resolutions and half-hearted intentions that never end how they should, my family still loves me, Jesus still loves me, and every morning is a second chance?

The beautiful reminds me that life is a gift, and the hard things remind me that this is not my home. Both should make me smile. 

"It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given. One or the other becomes a habit of life." -Elisabeth Elliot