Counting Our Blessings

This is Hilary posting...

Dan and I have shared about the many hardships we have faced, including times of doubt, times of faith testing, and our seemingly never ending struggle with insomnia and fatigue. I just thought I would take some time to also post about our blessings.

First of all, we are surrounded here by people who are truly living their Christian faith. This church is a family, and they have welcomed us with open arms. We are now a part of this family, surrounded by their love and encouragement. I do not think we could be in a better place for a learning environment. We are loved and accepted for who we are and challenged and encouraged to grow and be better. They take care of us. We are so blessed.

Secondly, we are figuratively surrounded by you all, our dearest friends and family. There are so many people out there both interested in keeping up with our lives and praying for us. We are uplifted and supported by your love and prayers. Though you are not with us physically, you are with us in your hearts and in ours, and we are so grateful for your presence in our lives now, and the influences each and every one of you had in getting us to this point.

Thirdly, we are hugely blessed to have each other. When one of us is down, the other helps to bring a smile back to their face. We truly complement each other in every way. My strengths are in areas where Dan has weaknesses, and Dan's strengths are in areas where I have weaknesses. Together we make an awesome team, and being able to work together to hone those skills and become a better team is just awesome.

Fourthly, we have been blessed by a great group of teens to work with. They are polite and well-behaved. We are not kept over-busy disciplining, so youth nights go smoothly. They seem to have taken a shine to us; they listen to us and respect us. They are unique individuals, each of them wonderful in their own way, and as a collective group the best "starter group" we could have hoped for.

Of course, there are many more blessings in our lives at the moment, but those are the big four. God has blessed us beyond our wildest imaginations, and even though there are hard times and rough spots in the midst of all these blessings, God is using even them to bless us, by stretching us and helping us to grow, to depend evermore on Him.

Thank you, all of you, for being a part of this journey with us. Your support and prayers are appreciated more than you know.

Love,
Hilary