thanks for nothing

i think i am really starting to like Milan. At first i wasn't so sure, i hated getting on 23 every time i went somewhere. i disliked my friends being at least 20 minutes away. i really didn't like driving into work at 2am in the middle of winter (ok, i don't think i will ever like that). but i do like Milan. i love my church. i really am enjoying my new friends, my small group. i like going to church and people actually saying hello, because they finally know my name. i like figuring out who is who and who "belongs" to who. i like seeing the basement of my church for the first time. i like that i got a first hand tour from the pastors wife, yup that's right! at the special Milan thanksgiving service tonight a few local churches got together to give thanks for the good, bad and "in between times" that we deal with. it is always encouraging to be in a group of believers from all different backgrounds, ages, color, sex, and personalities. but the constant thing is God's love and how he has touched each person in that room. so we went around and various people gave examples of God's awesomeness in the good, bad and in between. i thought about speaking up, but didn't (gotta work on that). anyway since i did some thinking, i thought i would write down what i would have said if i wasn't so chicken

The Good: I thank God for putting us in Milan, helping us to find a church home again and quickly surrounding us with a support group. for a little while i thought i might not find this again. that i might not know God like i thought I did at Central, but stupid me to doubt. of course i would find Him. and this time i will not lose Him. I love being excited to go to church, being disappointed if it isn't Wednesday or Sunday. i love the joy i have to worship, to read and of course to learn.

The Bad: of course this is more difficult, but i praise and thank God through the recent "loss" that Drew and I are dealing with (better yet, have dealt with, praise God). I thank God that He will give us more chances and that we are so young and have so many years ahead of us. and i thank Him for giving me peace through this and so many people that have been through this trial to help me move on. Thank you

The in-be-tween: For me this is tough as well...we don't even realize all the "nothing" times that God saves us from, we don't know what could have happened, would could have hurt, killed or damaged us. My close friend and biking bud, Carol was hit by a car this July. Background: Carol and I biked to work at least 3 times a week (20-30 miles round trip) and rode across the state this summer on a week long trip. We mostly rode together but occasionally rode separate if our schedules were opposite. On July 2, they were just that. She was struck on her way to work, alone. I had a hard time with this, thinking, "if we were together it wouldn't have happened" but God has really helped me realize that it could have been that much worse if i were there. i hate that she was hurt (back fracture, broken clavicle, severed ear) but i love that she lived, can walk, and with God's help will bike again someday. i feel guilty that i am Ok, it took awhile to get back on my bike, to ride that route again, but i realized i had to keep riding for both of us. i couldn't let the accident take the joy of biking from both us. i know Carol would hate that. So Thank you God, for nothing :)

that is what i would have said.