Day 1 - 100 Days of thankfulness

i'm ashamed to admit that for the past few months, i have been Miss Complain-y.  it's no surprise to anyone who i've spoken to that i am unhappy with my job and all the negative products that have come with it.  and sadly, i have changed.  i have become a complainer.  i generally try to keep my debbie downer side to just a select few who are entrusted with seeing all facets about me.  but as of late, i have gone public.  and i'm ashamed of it.  so i've decided that i want to try to a mia-version of the 100 days of happiness project with my blog - 100 days of thankfulness.  i will try to write a quick blog entry about something i am thankful for each day to remind myself that God throws me a bone every day - that i am not in such an awful state as i think i am - that things actually DO go well in my life - that my life is blessed.

so here goes!

today, i am thankful for a little boy - a 1 and half year baby - sy's nephew adam.  i've known adam since he was about 8 months old (when sy and i began dating).  and he is just the CUTEST little guy.  every time i saw him, it was in a group setting in which sy's parents, his sister and brother-in-law, and sy and i were there.  of the group, i was the person he knew the least.  so whenever i saw him, he was most happy to see his family and i was a bit of a stranger.  and while it always took time for him to warm up to me, he never had to warm up to everyone else.  as he learned to talk, he began learning everyone's names - umma, abba, halmee (halmunee/grandma), habadah (harabujee/grandpa).  he couldn't pronounce any S sounds, so he couldn't say sy nor samchoon (uncle).  but when we asked him, "where's samchoon?", he would point at sy.  but a little over a month ago, while playing with him, adam learned my name!  and soon, he began saying it all the time!  it was the most adorable thing i'd ever seen!

so today, as i ate lunch with adam and sy's family, he called me by name - mia!  and as i played with him and talked with him, i realized that this little baby knows me.  he knows my name.  when we point to me and ask him "who's that?",  he smiles and says mia.  and i've never felt more special in my life than to be someone important enough in this baby's life to be known by him.  he knows i am someone in this family that he doesn't see much, but he can count on seeing me from time to time.  and apparently, when i'm not there, sometimes he calls out for me to look for me!  it's a really special feeling to be known by a baby.  a baby only cares for the important people in his/her life - and i am one of his.  and i'm so thankful that he has welcomed me into his life.

i sang a song at church today that had lyrics like this:

You're a good, good Father - it's who You are
And I'm loved by you - it's who i am

i thought about how wonderful it is to be known to adam.  and then i thought, how much more wonderful it is to be known by God.  He knows my name.  He knows who i am.  He knows that i am special and important to His family.  He calls my name and looks for me.  i am loved by Him.

thank you adam for calling me by name.  you'll never know how much it means to me.  thank you Father for calling me by my name.  i can never show You enough how much it means to me.