Who else forgot how much traffic there is on the day before Thanksgiving? I guess everyone’s picking up food and ingredients for other food and getting on the road to travel and whatnot. We had to run a couple of errands along with the rest of the Birmingham metropolitan area and it was raining so hard and flooding and I almost had to pull over and wait it out. ⁣
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But we did what we needed to do and we survived. ⁣ (This sentence is very 2020.)
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I had a wonderful IG Live conversation with @the.quiet.musings this morning. We talked about loneliness, belonging, vulnerability, and all kinds of other things. It was so nice to talk to Poline. I love how she truly wants people to be real with themselves and others. I think our conversation is over on her IGTV.⁣
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Also, I had like three opportunities this afternoon to explode and yell and use obscene language and I didn’t. If I told you these three things you wouldn’t believe they all happened on the same day. But they did. By the grace of God I somehow responded to each situation with grace and patience and we survived. God really does sanctify us.⁣
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I have complicated feelings about Thanksgiving. I’m sure others do too. But this is a time to be thankful, so here are a few things I’m thankful for right now: this tree outside my bathroom window in the photo above, the fact that I’ve kept so many houseplants alive this year, and my new hairstyle that’s only a week (or two?) old. I love it. ⁣
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Oh, one more thing. I’m so thankful for everyone I’ve connected with here [on Instagram]. It’s been fun engaging with all of you since I started using this previously-dormant account in June. Thanks so much for your posts, photos, comments, messages, and conversations.⁣
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I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving or a decent Thanksgiving or a not miserable Thanksgiving. We have received so many good gifts, but it’s also a really hard time. ⁣
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May we notice God’s presence wherever we are, however we are.

*Image and words originally posted by Charlotte Donlon on Instagram.