Thankfulness
So apparently I am not so great at consistently updating my blog on a regular basis. It has been quite some time since I have written anything considering that it is now the day after Thanksgiving and the last time I posted was this summer while I was in Taiwan. This semester has been mostly busy and chaotic, and I am glad that I have finally found the time to put some of my thoughts into words.
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In light of it being Thanksgiving break, I have decided to write a "thankful post" similar to those currently trending on social media (I apologize for the cliché-ness). God has blessed me abundantly in the past few months and I don't know if I can fully express my gratitude in words, but I will try my best.
To start with, I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be studying at Northwestern College. I am constantly challenged to grow in my relationship with Christ and with others. I am challenged to discuss and think about a variety of issues and to engage in learning alongside my peers and professors. Not everyone has the opportunity to attend college and pursue a higher education and this is something that I often take for granted. I am also blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful community while at Northwestern. From the crazy, resplendent girls on my wing to my new friends in I-Club and LaMosaic, I am blessed to be surrounded by people who genuinely care about me and want to get to know me more.
I am thankful for the family that I have been given. While I am immensely blessed to have my immediate family, I have learned that my family includes more than just my blood relatives. The girls on my floor that I get to do life with, my incredible host family in Orange City, and my friends at Northwestern have all become part of my family over the past year or so. Not to mention my church family and my friends back home, and my brothers and sisters in Christ who are a part of my heavenly family. These are the people that I cherish and hold dear, the people who have influenced my life and my faith in significant ways.
I am thankful for a God who loves me more than I can fathom and who offers me salvation and forgiveness. I have recently begun to understand that forgiveness is a process and that it can be incredibly difficult to forgive people at times. However, this experience has revealed to me the true freedom and reconciliation that can be found in God's forgiveness through His son, Jesus Christ. I don't know how I would get through life without the healing power and unending grace and love of Christ.
I am thankful for culture and diversity. God reveals himself through the unique people and cultures that He has created. He cannot be contained to a single culture and I find that I most clearly see Him when I study and experience cultures that are different from my own. Diversity has caused so much pain and brokenness in the world and I think that it is time for people to start seeing it as something to be celebrated and enjoyed. Getting to know people who are different than me has been one of the greatest blessings in my life and has taught me so much about who God is.
I am thankful for so much more than this brief list. James 1:17 tells us,"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." As we leave this season of thanksgiving, it is important that I do not cease showing my thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord. He has blessed me abundantly and it is important that I keep on acknowledging all that He is doing in my life.
_______________________________________________________________
In light of it being Thanksgiving break, I have decided to write a "thankful post" similar to those currently trending on social media (I apologize for the cliché-ness). God has blessed me abundantly in the past few months and I don't know if I can fully express my gratitude in words, but I will try my best.
To start with, I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be studying at Northwestern College. I am constantly challenged to grow in my relationship with Christ and with others. I am challenged to discuss and think about a variety of issues and to engage in learning alongside my peers and professors. Not everyone has the opportunity to attend college and pursue a higher education and this is something that I often take for granted. I am also blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful community while at Northwestern. From the crazy, resplendent girls on my wing to my new friends in I-Club and LaMosaic, I am blessed to be surrounded by people who genuinely care about me and want to get to know me more.
I am thankful for the family that I have been given. While I am immensely blessed to have my immediate family, I have learned that my family includes more than just my blood relatives. The girls on my floor that I get to do life with, my incredible host family in Orange City, and my friends at Northwestern have all become part of my family over the past year or so. Not to mention my church family and my friends back home, and my brothers and sisters in Christ who are a part of my heavenly family. These are the people that I cherish and hold dear, the people who have influenced my life and my faith in significant ways.
I am thankful for a God who loves me more than I can fathom and who offers me salvation and forgiveness. I have recently begun to understand that forgiveness is a process and that it can be incredibly difficult to forgive people at times. However, this experience has revealed to me the true freedom and reconciliation that can be found in God's forgiveness through His son, Jesus Christ. I don't know how I would get through life without the healing power and unending grace and love of Christ.
I am thankful for culture and diversity. God reveals himself through the unique people and cultures that He has created. He cannot be contained to a single culture and I find that I most clearly see Him when I study and experience cultures that are different from my own. Diversity has caused so much pain and brokenness in the world and I think that it is time for people to start seeing it as something to be celebrated and enjoyed. Getting to know people who are different than me has been one of the greatest blessings in my life and has taught me so much about who God is.
I am thankful for so much more than this brief list. James 1:17 tells us,"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." As we leave this season of thanksgiving, it is important that I do not cease showing my thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord. He has blessed me abundantly and it is important that I keep on acknowledging all that He is doing in my life.
Hello Olivia Oleson. So good to know you and I am blessed by your blog post "Thankfulness". and also blessed to go through your profile and know how you have acknowledged God's faithfulness and how God has blessed you abundantly. And I am also glad to know your interest in knowing other cultures and languages, loving, talking and being around people. I am so much impressed to know all these things about your life. I certainly have no doubt that the Lord has purpose in letting me know you so that God can fulfill desires of your heart and make use of you in touching lives of the most under privileged poorest of poor people in the slums of Mumbai. I am in the Pastoral ministry for last 35yrs in the great city of Mumbai, India a city with great contrast where richest of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reachout to the poorest of poor people with the love of Christ to bring healing to the broken hearted. We also encourage young people as well as adults from the West to come to Mumbai on a short / long term missions trip to work with us the slums of Mumbai during their vacation time. We would so love to have you come with your friends to work with us during your vacation time. I am sure you will have a life changing experience. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede. Looking forward to hear from you very soon. May you have a very blessed and joyous Christmas season and a very prosperous and Christ centered coming new year. God's richest blessings on you.
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