Thanksgiving

Well. In approximately two days I get to see my lovely sister, Justine, as well as my brother, Shane (although I saw him a couple weeks ago). This is the longest I have ever been away from Justine and it's been hard, not gonna lie. I went from having her be so tangible in my life, to not really having that grip at all (besides Skype of course). She moved away about three months ago to San Francisco to intern through the Urban program at Westmont college. I know this may sound pathetic and you're bored already from reading, but these past couple of months have really made me a more grateful person. Before my sister moved away, I was taking her for granted. She only lived about fifteen or twenty minutes away so it really wasn't a big deal at all because it was like she was still at home since I would see her every Monday for small group, and Sunday for church. But now it's narrowed down to me relying on technology such as cell phones or computers to get through to her which overall just sucks. I miss her terribly. And I thank God for her that I actually have someone in my family to look up to that is a pure child of God and a sister that I will live with through Christ for all of eternity. I don't give her enough credit for the amazing person that she is, and I fail at encouraging her utterly which goes along with what I talked about in the previous post. We have to learn to really build others up, (not just those who live in Christ) because what good does that do? God commands us to love each other and encourage one another, especially in their walks with Jesus Christ. So be thankful for every person in your life that has encouraged you in your walk because God has placed them in your life for his reasoning, and we can't abuse those privileges because we're not sure how much longer we'll actually have them for. Take this week as Thanksgiving is coming up to really reflect on your life and how much God has blessed you with amazing friends, family, etc.  "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1