Photo from out of the past
No, I’m not demeaning the value or significance of saying grace before our Thanksgiving feast—an essential part of the festivity. But we can’t be long-winded then—the food will get cold! So, because I am a writer, I want to have my say and get specific. I want to let You, God, know exactly why I am so thankful for the life You have given me.
This is random, not in order of importance. I thank You for my daily life. I love waking up in the morning, and being warm and toasty, and realizing You are right here with me and Karen. I love my quiet time with You. Whatever my day holds, be it golf (so fun!), or caring for others, or chores, or whatever You bring up unexpectedly—I love that You are with me. I love Your gentleness in the evening—I can watch sports, or read, or write, or do something with Karen—and when I go to bed, You are right there with me, just like You were when I woke up.
I thank You for my career. I thought I should be a famous writer, but You thought I should be a teacher, and You were right. I had so many lives touch me in those 33 years—You demonstrated so many times that people were more important than money that I no longer doubt it. I am thankful that I did something with my life that I feel good about. By the way, I also thank You for retirement.
I thank You for my family. What a miracle to see three brand new souls, Bethany and Nathan and Zachary, brought into this world, and to watch them grow and develop and evolve into the persons they are today. My heart overflows—how wonderful of You to entrust them to us! And the miracle continues—the souls You have enjoined them to, and the brand new souls You have created through them. Your love and goodness surpasses my understanding.
I thank You for all of those other intimate connections—my mom and dad—my brother and sisters—their families—Karen’s family—the multitude of close friends You’ve brought in and out of my life. They have instructed me in the nature of love. All the stuff that You’ve told us: it can’t be contained, you receive by giving, it is the most powerful force on the planet, everyone that loves is born of God. Each one of us is so imperfect—it is love that brings out our best.
Photo from out of the past
I thank You for my memories—or should I say, my history? There are many unpleasant ones…some that I know I repress. Yet who I am is the result of who I have been and what I have gone through. We are snowflakes—no two alike. I think it is the gift of memory that enables us to see most clearly Your hand at work in our lives. Sifting through memory opens up the big picture. And besides that, it is fun. How many Thanksgiving table conversations gravitate into recollections of past events in the family history?
I thank You for Karen. It is not always easy and it is not always harmony, but we both know we are on the same journey together. If You look at all my thankfulnesses listed above, she is intimately involved in every one! “The two shall become one…”—that is not a command, it is a forecast. I sometimes wonder how marriages that do not recognize Your presence ever survive. I used to measure my spirituality against hers (and always came up short)…what nonsense! God sees us as one. My frequent prayer is: draw us together nearer to You. I know that You gave me Karen not as a Madonna or as a rescue project…she is my match. The two shall become one.
At the end of my long-winded grace, I thank You for You. I had a friend from my distant past send me this response to one of my blog posts: “As an atheist I am amazed at how much energy you devote to what I consider to be a fantasy…” My dear Lord Jesus, if You are a fantasy, then I am pitiful. But every fiber of my being affirms Your reality. It has been 44 years since I received You as my Lord. The years don’t lie. From all Your bounty, I thank You most of all for You.
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