What I’m Most Grateful For This Year

Thanksgiving is an opportunity to reflect and show gratitude for all the blessings in your life. In my latest blog, “What I’m Most Grateful For This Year,” I’ll share a list of things in my life, big and small, that fill my life with joy. 2021 has had its ups and downs, definitely more ups than 2020. 

Through all of these moments, it’s important to find even the smallest things to be grateful for. Even if you didn’t hit your goals or your life isn’t where you want it to be, you can be thankful for the small wins or lessons you learned during failure moments.  Here are a few of the things that I’m most grateful for this year.

Family

Hands down, I’m most grateful to have a family. Even though I don’t see my family regularly, I can always count on them to be there for support. I especially love the next generation of nieces and nephews and watching them grow and develop into interesting human beings. 

Health

One thing that I learned during the Covid-19 pandemic is the importance of taking care of your mental and physical health and what a blessing it is to have your health and live in a country where medical care is easily accessible. So many of us take it for granted, and we all got a wake-up call in 2020. 

Staying healthy has to be intentional, and you have a choice to eat healthy foods, exercise, or get your yearly physical at the doctor. Every time that I work out, I give thanks to God for the ability to move my body and be alive.

Faith

Another moment of gratitude is the opportunity to go to church every day and the spiritual growth that I received. 2021 has been a trying year for my home church, and many changes have taken place. I realized that I had taken many things for granted. For example, I always assumed that I would be able to go to mass every day, but that all changed in 2020 when all public masses were suspended due to the pandemic. 

The priest and deacon at my church have been there for decades, and this year, they were both transferred to new parishes. The changes that happened this year have affected my spiritual life greatly, but I am grateful for the many years of spiritual growth that I received. I will appreciate all the wonderful memories that we had together.

Friends

I’m grateful for the small circle of friends that I have who provide me with support and so many good times in my life. 

Writing

Writing has always been my saving grace since I was a child. I’m grateful to be able to write this blog and share my life and lessons with people worldwide. I’ve always loved writing because it was the one thing I enjoyed, and my story can never be wrong. I love the freedom to express myself and use my experiences to encourage others to be the best version of themselves. 

Love & Hope

I’m so grateful to have an open heart still to love and still have an ounce of hope that love will come into my life. When I look at my life this year, I’ve received so much love, patience, and kindness from others that I don’t feel like I deserve it. It always blows my mind when someone is kind to me because I don’t expect it. 

Even though I have dark moments, my inner child’s open heart has hope for love that always overcomes my sadness, bitterness, and anger. For example, when I was seven years old, I watched The Little Mermaid and had a moment of hope for future love. I knew that my family loved me, but my heart was already open to greater love. A love where someone didn’t have to love me because we are related but because they chose to love me. 

That hope remains locked away in my heart to be unleashed for my soulmate.

The Gift Of Life

Life is so precious, and our time on earth is not promised to us. Each day is a gift, and I’m grateful for the life that I have. I may groan and grumble in the morning when I wake up, but my life is a beautiful blessing for which I’m forever grateful. 

Job

I’m so grateful to have a job that allows me to provide for myself and give back to the community. 

Home

I’m so blessed to have a beautiful place to live in sunny Southern California. I’ve lived at the same place for over 16 years and have been fortunate to have affordable rent. In addition, my house is close to my church, grocery store, dentist, and doctor’s office, which makes my life easier. 

Christmas 

I’m so grateful for the wonderful season of Christmas! I love the joyful music, lights, smells, food, Hallmark movies, and decoration. But, what I love most is the Christmas spirit. It seems like the whole world is more cheerful, kind, and generous during December. 

Car

Thank you to my baby girl Phantom Gray aka my car, for keeping me safe and providing the perfect environment for prayer and writing my blog.

My Blog Followers

Lastly, I’m most grateful to everyone that reads my blog each week. Your kind words and encouragement keeps me going. Thank you for allowing me to share my story-thoughts, feelings, and words of advice with you. 

What are you most thankful for this year? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment with the top three things that you’re grateful for this year. If you enjoyed this blog, check out my latest – Best Ways To Give Back This Holiday Season.