The other day I complained about one of my blog peeves–posts ending in questions that are clearly designed to drive comments. Another of my blog annoyances would be posts that ramble on forever, either saying not much of anything or saying the same thing over and over. Many good writers are not good editors. Many bloggers are not good writers.
Since I am a passable writer and an exacting editor, I figured the best tactic to take here is to keep this blog’s daily entries to a 500-word cap. Sometimes I’ll go a few over. If I go a LOT over, I’ll warn folks and throw in a jump. It’s only fair. Perhaps the harshest criticism I fear for a blog entry is the dreaded TL;DR–>Too Long; Didn’t Read.
So I’m faced with this self-imposed limitation (aren’t so many of our limitations just exactly that?) today, and I’m realising that on this post especially that’s a good thing.
Because this is the What I Am Thankful For post.
As I sit here trying to think of that for which I am thankful, I realise that there is nothing in my life I am NOT thankful for. The good things are good and obviously a bounty for which one gives thanks. The bad things all have good outcomes. The crippling teaches me compassion and patience. The isolation drives home the blessings of friendship and the gift of connection via technology. The pain underscores the blessings of the times when the pain stops, and in its deepest throes it allows me to turn my mind inside itself and focus on The God Who Is There. I feel the closest to God when the pain is at its worst, and that is an undeniable gift.
There is quite simply not a single thing I would change about the things placed in my life. And I’m further thankful that I have yet the time, I hope, to change those things about myself that need some work.
As always when it comes specifically to this blog, the thing for which I am most thankful are the people who grant me the gift of their time to read what I say. I realise I make this point often; were I to make it in every entry that would still not emphasise enough how grateful I am. There are two most precious gifts God has given beyond the irreplacable everlasting Grace, and they are Time and Literacy. The fact that I can share those with people who read my words is a type of communing. And I am so ever thankful for that.
At our house Thanksgiving is a time of quiet meditation. We feed our bodies and our souls. We go into the season of Miracle Lights with a sense of joy. I’m grateful for that too. I hope all of you have as wonderful a day and that your lives are richly blessed. Thank you for you.
You are much more than a passable writer, and that is not just me saying that. It’s everyone I know who reads what you write.
Thank you for reminding me to be thankful for the peaks AND the valleys. God knows what he is doing even when it’s hard for us to comprehend.
I am incredibly thankful for you. I truly don’t know what I would do without you!
“The other day I complained about one of my blog peeves–posts ending in questions that are clearly designed to drive comments.”
Double hate for this! Although there are a few blogs that I enjoy that do this so it’s not always bad. Most of the time it is.
I found my self rambling on a theology post a week or so ago, so I just decided to bullet point most of it. It certainly cut down on the word count. Now I know why philosophy books are so huge (not that I’m a philosopher).