What I’m Thankful For
My health: I wake each day to find my mind and limbs and organs working well enough to allow me to do most anything I chose to. There are those that cannot move: a quick mind trapped in a fragile, helpless form. There are those whose bodies remain hale while their minds slowly fade away. There are those who suffer from any of a myriad diseases and disorders.
My home: It is, by nature of the circumstance, difficult to count the number of people who experience homelessness. A 2007 report puts the figure for the U.S. homeless at over three quarters of a million individuals, of which 338,781 were living on the streets, in cars or in other areas not meant for human habitation.
My family: For some, this Thanksgiving will be the first without a dear loved one, taken by illness or injury. For many, this Thanksgiving will be spent entirely alone; neither relatives nearby with which to share a meal, nor any family living a phone calls distance away to hear from and wish one’s best.
My friends: You, dear readers, who make me smile or, better still, laugh out loud. You who make me think and refine my way of thinking. You who visit me and look in on me, who offer a kind word when I’m down. The varied and wonderful courses that have lead me to each of you is a gift and your friendships something to treasure.
My things: I have more than I need to survive - Internet access, cable television programming, clothes in plenty, food reserves, income from a steady job, heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, more instruments than I can play… the list is long.
Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. If I were to die tonight, I would leave behind an undeserved embarrassment of riches.
“It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD…” Psalm 92:1
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” Psalm 107:8-9
“Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
Who can speak enough about the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can praise him as much as he should be praised?” Psalm 106:1-2
“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30
