Today I’m grateful for Thanksgiving. It’s sort of a weird holiday, when you think about it. We celebrate the good things in our lives by absolutely stuffing ourselves with food and then taking the rest of the day to lounge around talking about how full we are. But the point, of course, is to give thanks for those good things and recognize the blessings that are ours. It’s definitely a unique holiday, and even in less-than-ideal circumstances we can all benefit from the introspection Thanksgiving brings.
As our family partook of the traditional meal today, we appreciated the chance to be together. This isn’t a great photo, but hey, that’s us.
For the past few weeks, as I’ve written these #givethanks posts, I’ve had a good time reflecting on some of the little things that make my life so good. I intentionally did not write about people in these posts– I wanted to focus on things that were perhaps a bit more mundane. Through that process, it’s been very clear to me that although each of these things brings some measure of happiness and contentment to my life, it’s the people who really make a difference. My wife, my kids, my parents, my siblings, my family, my friends, and even the strangers who cross my path… all of them have, in one way or another, shaped me into who I am today. I can never truly express the depth of my gratitude to them, and words on a web page hardly do it justice.
Not a day goes by that I don’t say a quiet prayer expressing my gratitude for something and someone. And so, as I wrap up this little series of posts, I’m filled with a warm sense that I’m truly and deeply blessed.