Overdue Thanks to my Heavenly Father

October was a roller coaster ride for sure. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of bumps on life’s highway. But nothing that could not be dealt with. The pace was the thing that almost wore me down. Things kept happening one on top of another - some bad, but many good.

I sat down today to deal with this month’s bills. I have been in what I call “survival mode” for about 5 years now. Almost the whole time, I’ve faced each new month “in the hole” before I even began. Slowly, steadily, things are simmering down. I’ve plodded along, lived frugally, learned a lot about how to thrive on what little I had. I made a game of it.

Along the way, I’ve been blessed, repeatedly. Sometimes it was help with a sudden bill - the vet for when Silkie broke 3 of her canine teeth, car issues, etc. Sometimes it was food that came my way in amazing degrees from food pantries, from folks who were clearing things out, and from other sources.

I worked the Swagbucks website, occasionally building up enough points for $25 gifts cards to use at the stores. I worked coupons and Free Friday Downloads at Smiths.

And I worked at rekindling my free lance writing work, with one sale so far.

Last month, I ended without stress at the end of the month. Looking at my bills today, for this month, unless something unexpected happens, I hope to finish the month without stress once more.

I’m not sure how to deal with the lack of that stress. Oh, there are still other issues - medical (basal cell carcinoma still to be cut and stitched,  mammo for one lump), an old car whose parts are getting harder to replace, an old house, and an old body. But they are in better shape than they were 5 years ago.

What am I saying? That I might not be in the best of all possible situations, but I am certainly not in the worst. Thank God - literally. And thanks to my friends and agencies and opportunities I refuse to overlook.

Heavenly Father, thank you for getting me over all the bumps. Thank for you helping me get all the bills paid, for cluing me to check situations with my car, with my health, before they get out of hand. Thank you for the patience, the stamina, and above all, for the faith. And please bless anyone who helped me in any way, even with a simple prayer - thank you for hearing those simple prayers!