Giving Thanks

It's two days early, but I'll be away on Thanksgiving, so here we are anyway ...

Even with all that's up in the world, I have a great deal to be thankful for.

I am thankful to be an American. Yes, the election didn't go our way. But it's not THE election, or the LAST election, there'll be another around presently. In two years, we elect the entire House of Representatives again, and two years after that, the President, and quite a bit can happen in those four years. And none of us are going to be put in prison for having supported the wrong candidate. We are still free to voice our opinions, and to work for change where we see the need for it. We are free to live and work more or less where we please. And even though some of us are not as free as we'd like to be, we are collectively more free than any other people on Earth. Our freedoms are the envy of the world, whether they want to admit it or not. And I am very, very thankful to have been born an American.

I am thankful for my family. I have a wonderful wife, and a sweetheart of a step-daughter. They've been there for me in some very tough times lately, but we've hung together, and our love has brought us through. I honestly do not know where I would be today without their love and care. My life would be immeasurably poorer without them.

I am thankful for my work. I have a challenging job that calls out my best efforts, one that builds on everything I've learned up to this point, and goes farther still. I have stimulating colleagues, and worthwhile tasks to fill every working day.

I am thankful for my church. They, also, have given my family a great deal of support during trying times. They stood there at my side when my mother sickened, and then passed away. Truly, they showed me the love of Christ in their actions. They are wonderful people, and I am glad to call them my brothers and sisters.

There's so much more, so many blessings, that I have neither the time nor space to list them all here. All of you who read this can probably say the same. We are greatly blessed, in large ways and small, and it is all to the good for us to take some time this Thursday and reflect on our inestimable riches.

Truly, I live a blessed life. And I am thankful.