Gratitude has been on my mind of late most likely because of the long lead up to Thanksgiving this past weekend. This year I have a long list of blessings to catalog, not the least being the healthy deliverance of my two newest family members. My list is extensive to say the least.
During a recent yoga class, we were instructed to contemplate five positive self-qualities for which we are grateful and in doing so I couldn't help but ponder my life journey thus far.
I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you.
Mine is a journey along a sporadically rocky road riddled with twists and holes and on occasion so broken it has forced me to change direction. The twists and holes in our roads often represent the many "total busts" in our lives such as loss, loneliness, divorce, struggles, setbacks, depression, injury, illness; pretty much anything which didn't go the way we anticipated or wanted it to. And this is what I am truly grateful for this year.
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.
I am grateful for every "no" which made room for an unexpected "yes". Every giant hole of loss which became a window or a doorway for me to look into or walk through. Every bout of loneliness or depression which reminded me to love that much more sumptuously when I could. Every struggle which has deepened my inner strength. Every injury or illness which forced me to rest and recover and to build strength in other ways. Every delay which gave me an ounce more of patience.
I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there, you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true.
Maybe every failure is not really a failure at all, but a blessing in disguise. So this Thanksgiving past, I am grateful for everything that was "not". I give thanks for the broken road.
(Bless the Broken Road, Rascal Flatts)
