Thirty Days of Thankfulness-A Countdown to my 10th Wedding Anniversary: #23

23. Today I am thankful for perseverance/not giving up.
I am organized and really get bothered when the kids receive a toy and we're missing a piece. We've been able, due to my quirkiness, to keep track of basically every part to every toy they've received for the last seven years.
You can imagine, then, my dismay when the summer began and one of my daughter's flip flops lost its mate. We went to the ocean in May, and after that trip, I could not find the twin. Last summer we'd spent "more than $5" on pairs of flip flops for the older two in hopes they'd last another summer.
I thoroughly searched their bedroom as the solo "sole" was found under their bed.
Today, after three MONTHS and the purchase of a larger pair (that will last next summer as well), guess what turned up in an odd place?
I told my friend JoAnn that God is a great finder of lost things. Here is just another example.
I debated many times if I should just throw away the shoe, but I did not want to admit defeat. "What if it shows up and I threw away the mate?"
I believe God also does not give up on us, though many times others choose to throw us away, not willing that our second chance should ever manifest.
And, we can similarly choose to keep holding on to that promise, that hope we've clung to, though it seems we'll never see it in our lifetime.
He'll never give up on me. " And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6 (ESV)