Thanksgiving

Today is November 24, 2011 and considered Thanksgiving in the United States.  It's a great holiday that most of us think about all the things that we are thankful for, and a lot of us are thankful to God for these things.  If you look on Facebook, you see many people telling others what they are thankful for.  I'm not sure who or what athesists attribute their thanks to. I am thankful to God every day, not just on one particular day.  I actually think most people are.  Except, I suppose, for those who think their lives are miserable.  But I've discovered, that there is always someone else who is worse off than me.  Always.  Keeping that in mind, I am always thankful for my life, my children, my circumstances and my little world.  God has blessed me in numerous ways, and I am ever thankful to Him.

I have to remember to also thank Him for the things which are not such a blessing.  Like my health, for instance.  There's a reason for all things, and truthfully, I'm to blame for the most part regarding my health.  If I had taken better care of myself all these years, I probably wouldn't have so many issues today.  But I'm still thankful for my health.  I could be dying from cancer in hospice, but I'm not.

I thank Him because we will have friends and relatives of my mom over today for dinner, even though I would much rather be with my childen and grandchildren.  I miss them terribly.  But for today, we invited people over who have no where else to go and who are alone.  I did that for every Thanksgiving when I was raising my kids.  My house was always filled with single, alone people who had no family around.  It bothers me to think of people who are not with friends or family on holidays. 

I thank God because I was able to spend so much time with my parents when they needed me the most, even though it meant being away from my children and grandchildren.  It's a blessing to be able to do these things and still be able to support myself with disability checks.  I imagine that some people would disagree.  But until you've walked in another person's shoes, it's impossible to pass judgment on that person.  I've learned that too.

I thank God because even though I get depressed at times, I feel an undergirding joy within myself that is hard to explain.  Joy and peace are "things" that you can't purchase or borrow or beg for.  They come only and exclusively from God.  You can be in the middle of a hurricane with problems surrounding you, but if you're in the will of God, you're in the palm of His hands, and you can have this joy amidst all the confusion.

So the list is endless of what I am thankful for.  I don't have enough room in this Blog to describe each and every thing.  I'm only 56, but I've learned a lot in my short life.  I've learned that you can't make someone love you, but you can still love them.  I've learned that you can't shove the Word of God down someone's throat, but you can pray for them and be there for them when they need you (or God).  I've learned that you always love your children more than they love you - something a good friend told me a long, long time ago, and I've found out that this is true.  I've learned that I am blessed beyond measure, but I'm not as thankful as I should be at times.  And I've learned that life is truly so short that we should always tell each other we love them and how we feel about them.  Next to our relationship with God, is our relationship with others that is so paramount.  Our husbands, our wives, our children, our friends, our family.  And so, I must say that I am very thankful for you...