Thankful

Mercies new each morning
I am thankful for waking up with breath in my lungs and a song in my heart
For a Creator who knows me and laughs with me and walks with me
Even though His steps are always ahead of mine
He never minds if it takes me a while to catch up to where He wants me to be

Sidewalks and hearts that are under construction
I'm thankful for new beginnings
For short walks to class and long walks down city streets
Hands intertwined, I'm thankful for peace amongst chaos
For comfortable shoes and comfortable people

Familiar faces across computer screens
I am thankful for home
For family and for joy, silly smiles and close ups of eyebrows and noses
For sisters that keep me dancing
And for parents that keep me hopeful
For friendships that are not contained by borders
Just merely reshaped and reassured
That love is flexible enough to reach across miles and mountains

Tea and dish soap and push pins and candles
I am thankful for the little things
For clean laundry on Saturday mornings
And clean hearts on Sunday mornings
For postage stamps and handwritten letters
For new notebooks and new faces

Second chances every second
I am thankful for a love that makes absolutely no sense
A love that stretches from lakeside benches to city skylines
For erasers and white out and forgotten mistakes
For the rain that reminds me that even my darkest stains can be washed away
And for a Shepherd that always welcomes me back into His flock
I am thankful