Thank You Notes to God

Dear God,

I would like to say a big resounding thank you for placing a Starbucks, several in fact, into the middle of Istanbul. I've thoroughly enjoyed the meeting of new and old, as I often walk through the Grand Bazaar with my oversized Starbucks cup and a smile on my face.



Furthermore, you've done a great job of making them all look exactly the same. For all I know, I'm actually at home and the world outside of trams and Mosques and kebab stands is just an illusion. The drinks taste exactly the same too; it really takes talent.

Which brings me to my next point: thank you for shish kebabs. That truly took talent, to make the things and to lead me to the local infested hole in the wall where I go everyday for my injection of oven baked chicken, homemade bread and couscous, salsa, and charred chili pepper that burns my mouth off but I can't stop eating.


The fact that you placed it in the Grand Bazaar is further appreciated- it just gives me an excuse to wander over and do a little shopping with too much money. And yet, every time I find something great I get a little twinge of happiness and I think how much I need to send you more thank you cards.

And thank you for people. The more people I meet the more friends I have, and the less alone I feel, despite the fact that you and I both know that it's good that I'm traveling alone; its good for my character. Its good because it scares me and I never want to live on fear.

Which of course reminds me of the day recently where I threw caution to the wind and fear out the window. I've heard the sang 'the higher the hair, the closer to Jesus' and I have to say, in my case, I think its 'the higher in air, the closer to God' because that hot air ballooning in Cappadocia was awe-some.



I'm pretty sure I heard you laughing when I took all of those pictures of your incredibly phallic rock formations, then got distracted by the ones that looked like noses.



And thank you for that beautiful sunrise on the balloon; it's always reassuring to see it appear without fail. Right now, I feel like in my daily life there is really not so much I can count on, but the sun always rises, just like me.


So thank you for the opportunity to count on me. To be beautifully surrounded but by all means, alone. Because I'm learning what I want and don't want in life. I'm discovering that qualities I have in myself not everyone shares, which might actually mean that I AM good at something in particular. I'm finding that certain things annoy me beyond all belief, and that I can choose not to deal with them, to look past and move on.



So, God, thanks for the cup in my hand, the clarity in my eyes, and the burning in my soul- they all propel me further into a life that is coming head on, and sweeping me with it.

Someone asked me yesterday what my hopes and dreams were that I hadn't yet fulfilled, and it took me a long time to come up with anything because I am living them. And isn't that what you want from us? To live them?

So again, thanks God, because I know you're holding me with you, and that someday I'm going to find exactly what I'm looking for, and right now, I'm getting exactly what I need. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I know that for now, I'm living with thank you.

Love,
Kelsey




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Location:Istanbul