Grateful & Thank Yous

I am grateful for the year that is ending in less than one hour.
The years before may have been one roller-coaster ride after another.
This year, however, felt more like a very, very slow bungee-jump progression.
I kept falling and falling, and nothing is within my grasp.
All I kept seeing was down, down and down.

Down there, there is pitch darkness.
I thought I saw some light but it was just my imagination.
Down there, looks like a bottomless pit.
The fall felt like a frightening eternity.
Down there, some force is dragging me in,
Like gravity, a natural phenomenon.

Just when I thought all hopes were lost,
something stopped me.
In the midst of it all,
something was pulling me against gravity.

As I turned my head,
thousands and thousands of strands twisted as one.
In each of these strands,
I see a person reaching out.
May it be a friend, family or prayer,
these are the ones helping me in times of desperation.

Therefore, I am grateful.
Grateful for every 'good luck'.
Grateful for every 'hang in there'.
Grateful for every 'it is all right'.
Grateful for the hugs.
Grateful for the many prayers.
Grateful for the shoulders that I have cried on.
Grateful for the persistent guidance.
Grateful for the food and treats.
I am grateful for the unlimited failures and I am also grateful for the minute success.

Most of all, I am grateful to God.
Thank You for all the people that I have met.
Thank You for my family, brothers and sisters.
Thank You for disappointments and sadness.
Thank You for happiness and joy.
Thank You for Your everlasting love.
Thank You for Your grace.

Thank You for NOT giving up on me. Amen.