Why We Are Thankful This Year

In honor of Thanksgiving tomorrow, I posted this picture (above) of our little family over on our Instagram and it made me think about this year and all that has transpired. In the midst of maybe one of the craziest years I’ve ever experienced I stand so incredibly in awe of all that we have been blessed with. Friends, community, health, a growing business, and answered prayers. Just to name a few.

This time last year I was beginning to feel the tug of transition. In a world where everyone tells you to keep up, to keep running, to never stop chasing after your dreams; I was beginning to feel that my world was topsy-turvy; and all my “chasing” was happening on a stationary wheel. All the “things” I had once wanted, all the “things” I had dreamed of were things I was living. My reality was what I had dreamed of and still, I could feel everything inside of me begging me to stop, to slow down, to simplify.

I even remember having this moment during the holiday season where I just wanted to curl up in my bed and forget about all the seasonal festivities because I was just. so. tired. Life was spinning at an uncontrollable speed, and nothing felt like “me” anymore. As the New Year approached, I knew something had to give. I couldn’t continue to live in a way that caused me to feel so disconnected from myself and my family.

In January of 2023, I made an incredibly hard decision and announced that I was stepping away from building my interior design business. To everyone, this decision seemed countercultural to our successful, growing business but to me I didn’t see any other way forward. This decision led to us making the decision to move back to my hometown in Michigan, which quickly led to us realizing that that actually WASN’T the right move for us after all. You can read more about that HERE or listen to a full podcast episode HERE.

And all of THAT, led to us back here; back to the home that we have nurtured and called ours for the last 6 years; back to a community of women that have become like family to me, and a church family that has loved and supported us. It has led Guy to realizing just how much he loves working in construction and has even given him permission to truly own being an entrepreneur.

This year I’ve often thought about the saying, “the grass is always greener…” and it’s true. More than any other generation, we are invited into more peoples homes and lives than ever before through the screens we look at everyday; we see how others live, what they wear, what kind of car they drive, how they decorate their house. And it causes something in us to become discontent with what’s right in front of us. We begin to actually believe that if we had more, dreamed bigger, worked harder, or lived like Betty down the street, we would be happier. And I’ve realized just how toxic and overrated it all is.

Contentment isn’t something we can work harder to “get,” it starts with being THANKFUL with where you’re at!

So, in this season, right now (don’t wait until the New Year), make a list of everything you are thankful for and take some extra time to thank the Heavenly Father for all of that and more!

“Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of Everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18