Thankful Thursday

For a few years I've really been working on gratitude and maintaining a relationship with God always so I'm not just feeling close to him when times are hard, as has been my habit in the past.

And I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job (oh come on, let me brag about one of the few things I feel like I've got a handle on in life!;)).

And yet...what is it about struggle? No matter how tight I feel with God, I can't seem to feel as close to and dependent on him when life is great as I do when I'm struggling through something.

My family and I have been riding high for a few weeks.

Lingering questions and issues were drowned out as we've been enjoying life to the limit lately.

We spent a fantastic week together on a magical vacation. I loved it! All through planning for it, before we left, while we were gone, and when we got back, I thanked Heavenly Father for the flood of blessings making it possible for us to go, for the flood of blessings while we were gone, and for the fantastic memories we have now.

I felt very close to God.

Then, on the day we were coming home, we got word that our brand new niece was in the NICU. Over the next few days we waited for test results and updates, fasted, and prayed. She's probably going to go home just fine in a few more days:)

There's a few other struggles coming to head again, but as they involve my husband's employment I'm not going to put it on the internet.

Any guesses where I'm going with this?

Weeks of riding high and feeling close to God. A few days of rough waters and feeling even closer to God.

Seriously, what is it about struggling that makes it possible to be so much closer to God?

I'm thankful that I feel like my relationship with God is almost always awesome. And I am thankful for the results of working through trials and that that relationship gets even tighter because of them.

What are you thankful for today?