A Gratitude Entry

So I was reading another persons blog today about gratitude and it inspired me to blog about gratitude.  That and the fact that tomorrow I will have two months free of smoking.  I just can not believe that it has been two months since I have picked up a cigarette.  I never thought that I could make it through the first 24 hours with smoking a cigarette, yet God has helped me make it 2 months.  I really think that I may never smoke again. 
Some day's when I think about the person I was 2 years and 9 months ago and the person that I am today, it doesn't seem real.  I am not that person that I was when I quit drinking.  Somehow, with Gods help everything has changed and I am so grateful for that.  That today my biggest challenge is how not to pick up a cigarette, and not how to get through the day without a drink, is something to be grateful for. 
And when little things in life go wrong, or stuff doesn't go my way, all I need to do is think about how it used to be and I can get through it because today I know that there is hope.  Today I know that I am OK and safely held.  Today I have a faith that works. 
I am also grateful because I can be a friend to others today.  Its not all about me and I don't have to be the center of attention today.  People can count on me to be there for them.  My family doesn't worry about me.  They don't have to worry that I will drop a bomb on them today.  They know that I am OK.  They know that I am doing what I need to do to take care of myself.  Now I can be there for them too. 
I am not paralyzed with fear, or running away from myself or running away from you.  I am not hiding from God or hiding from my feelings.  I am free to be me even if that person is imperfect and flawed.  I can accept my imperfections and loved myself despite them.  And I can accept you imperfections and love you despite them.  So that's what I am grateful for today!