Things I'm Thankful For

I was swiping through Instagram last night and came across a post that reminded me how much I have to be thankful for, so today, you get an entire post of things I am thankful for:

• A healthy birth, with no major problems or congenital birth defects (This was a real possibility, as I was two months premature.)
• A face that can smile, hands that work, and legs that walk
• No experience with trauma or child abuse
• Parents who are well-educated and who provided a safe and secure childhood for me
• No untimely deaths of loved ones
• Friends (such good and lovely friends)
• A husband
• Three silly step-kids who are healthy and strong
• A home (Thanks, Daryl!)
• A working car
• A stable and well-paying job
• Time and resources to enjoy my hobbies
• The ability to urinate (No, really -- I couldn't after two major surgeries, and it was life-changing.)
• A (mostly) healthy body

That last one. Let me elaborate on that last one.

Latter-day Saints (Mormons, to most people) believe in a resurrection. That is, we believe that everyone who dies will live again, with a perfected body. I believe that everyone who dies will live again, with a perfected body. When I was little, I didn't think much of it. As far as I was concerned, my body was just fine. I had a few scars but no broken bones -- no life-altering aches and pains.

I have life-altering aches and pains now, though. I have health problems I didn't have three years ago, and I don't see them going away any time soon. So I look forward to a resurrected, perfected body in a way I didn't when I was a child. I think about how glorious it will be to use the bathroom without great effort, to run and move like I could when I was small, and to know that no injury will permanently damage my body. What a relief. What a blessing!

And yet. Even with my health problems -- I have so many advantages in life. No one treats me cruelly because of a disability; employers don't discriminate against me because of my appearance; and there are people who look like me everywhere. I rarely have to worry that I'll stick out or get picked on, and I can travel when and where I need to with relative ease.

I have so much, and it's through nothing on my part at all.