The day before Thanksgiving an elderly man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."
Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "Like heck they’re getting divorced," she shouted, "I’ll take care of this."
She called Phoenix immediately, and said to her father. "You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"
The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife. "Okay, honey. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving and paying for their own flights."
I've always loved that story. Kind of speaks volumes about the world we live in doesn't it? There was a time when you couldn't imagine a Thanksgiving without getting together with family and loved ones to give thanks for all of the blessings that we have. Today, for so many of us the meaning of the day is lost in the middle of cooking, and deciding what football games to watch and making plans for Black Friday. For some, Thanksgiving is really Black Friday Eve!
I promised myself I wasn't going to create just another "the secularization of a Holiday blog," but here I am.
Truth be told, if you can read this, it means you have a computer and internet access. Many of you are reading this on your smart phones. If you are cooking right now, or setting the table for this evenings Thanksgiving feast / dinner, you are so much more blessed than MOST OF THE PLANET.
I can't begin to list the things I have to be thankful; the promise of eternal life, a wife who is a true partner and helpmate, a healthy, smart, talented daughter, a job where somebody actually pays me to do what I am called to do, an extended family that loves me and that I love dearly (though don't say it nearly enough), including parents who trained me up in the way I should go, a church family that is just that, health, a home that is truly a safe place for me to rest, the orange tree in my backyard... the list just GOES ON AND ON AND ON...
What can I say? I am blessed and highly favored by a God from whom all blessings truly flow, and if you take a good hard look at your life, you will find that you are blessed as well. We all have things to be thankful for.
I am so grateful today, and give thanks to the people in my life who make my life fuller and to the Giver of life for all his blessings.
What are you thankful for today?
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