the thankful project day 12 : something you were taught + an opportunity + an ability

I missed two days but I'm a-ok with that cuz look who came to visit! Little monster Elliot. I <3 him.

           Something I was taught

The first thing that came to mind was a verse my granny taught me. Apparently, I've had an issue with fear since I was little. I blame my siblings for this. See, I lived a peaceful life until about the age of 7 or 8. I never had nightmares until my siblings told me that the Mormon's who had recently moved into our town in Brazil were headhunters. When they came to our house, I went ballistic and thought my head was getting chopped. I ran around screaming bloody murder. True story! Ever since then, I've had nightmares, not about Mormon's but about lots of other scary stuff. Most of the time I don't remember my dreams, which I'm glad about. The verse is about fear and I think it applies to us in many ways today. I'm not so much afraid of bad dreams but I am afraid of something bad happening to my family. That's probably my biggest fear and I have to make a conscience decision to focus my heart and mind on Christ and leaving the unknown to Him. The verse she taught me is the following: 

Psalm 56:3 – What time I am afraid I will trust in thee.

An Opportunity

This one might sound odd but I'm thankful for the hard times I went through this past year. I know I have new readers on this blog so let me just sum it up and say that this past February / March I went through moving across the world, losing a loved one, getting married and moving to Oklahoma. WHOAH! Although, it was super duper hard I'm thankful because those opportunities taught me a lot. I learned forgiveness. I learned that life is so short. I learned that tomorrow isn't a guarantee. I learned that living for Jesus is the only way to go (still learning that one). I learned that I have a husband who loved his newlywed wife that struggled with depression. I learned that living in a small town with a slow paced life is good for the soul. I learned. I learned a lot. Would I want to go through that again? Not really. However, I'm glad good came out of it. 

*Disclaimer - getting married to my best friend wasn't hard. It's just all the changes at once were hard. I love being married!

An Ability

Ability - there are so many but I'm specifically thankful for the ability to run. I don't run tons of miles like I used to but I'm thankful I can. I'm thankful that I had family and friends support me to become a runner. Running has helped me learn lots about life and I'm thankful for it. 

What's something you were taught that you are thankful for? I hope you can reflect this month and count your blessings twice and THANKS a bunch for reading what I'm thankful for.