Gratitude makes it enough

I went into the local Goodwill today and thought "Oh my. This place is so expensive. $4.99 for shorts?!"


That's when you know you're a broke college student.

Living on my own at 19 in California has been harder than I could have ever imagined. It's hard to fight off jealousy when it feels like 99.9% of the people around me are still supported by their parents. It's hard to feel blessed when it's gas, groceries, utilities, tuition, rent, or car insurance - you may choose two. It's hard to remain hopeful when it seems like none of it is going to work out.

But it always does.
Every. Single. Time.

Because it is gratitude that turns the "have nots" into the "haves".
It's blessing that multiplies food in the pot and fills up six instead of two.
It's selfless love that keeps honest conversations going until two in the morning.
It's Jesus that says "Don't you worry, my daughter. I have you taken care of."


And this is my hope.

Someone recently prayed for me "May Dani not see ahead to tomorrow."


For a moment I thought this was a strange prayer.

Yet it was so needed. May I not get caught up in the things of tomorrow and be able to remain present in today. May I not be so worried about the future that I forget the blessings of the past. May I never forget that my Father will never change, will never leave me, will never stop loving me, and will never stop taking care of me.

He will never stop doing good to me.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

Jeremiah 32:40-41