Thanksgiving 2019

Since it's 2:13 am on Thanksgiving morning & my allergies are keeping me up, I thought I may as well blog!

I feel very blessed in my life to have grown up w/ all my grandparents; I started losing them in the 2000's, my dad's side first then my mom's side. I was very close to my maternal grandmother, in May of 2020 it'll have been five years since she passed & I miss her every day, especially around the Holidays. She lived to be a month short of 90 & she outlived everyone of her generation, including her siblings, her husband & one son.   

In the Summertime I remember going up to South Haven, Michigan (which was only 40 minutes away) & visiting her, spending many hours sitting on her porch or on her swing & just listening to her, laughing w/ her as she reminisced & crying w/ her as she shared her concerns about the salvation of her kids & grandkids. She never concerned herself w/ politics, her heart was always on the eternal & during the Holidays I'd drive up to South Haven to pick her up so she could spend Thanksgiving & Christmas at my mom's house. She always loved the drive & seeing the colors of the leaves & sometimes the snow covered landscape & our talks were the richest I've ever had.

She lived a simple life & she lived a simple faith; the one thing I'll always remember her for was her constant thankfulness:

Thank you for calling me…

Thank you for thinking about me…

Thank you for visiting me…

Thank you for picking me up…

Thank you for taking me shopping…

Thank you for making me tea…

Thank you for bringing me a blanket…

She loved Thanksgiving Day as she got to see her many kids & grandkids but for her, giving thanks wasn't just a day, it was moment after moment after moment, it was a lifestyle & she lived it.

Her life impacted mine & more often I find myself being thankful in all things: when I wake up in the morning the first thing out of my mouth is, “Thank You Father for a good night's sleep”, it doesn't matter if I've slept 8 hours or 1 hour, I'm still thankful I got any sleep at all! 

But there many, many things to be thankful for:

Thankful for every breath...

Thankful for life & health…

Thankful for God's provision…

Thankful for God's protection…

Thankful for God's love, grace & mercy…

Thankful for God's healing power…

Thankful for God's resurrection power... 

Thankful for my family…

Thankful for my friends…

Thankful for my fellowship…

Thankful for my pastors & leaders who model servant leadership…

Thankful for those who head up small groups & who are discipling others…

Thankful for those who teach the kids... 

Thankful for godly parents & grandparents…

Thankful for being born in America…

For those who have passed on, so very thankful for the time we had w/ them…

The list goes on & on & on...

If a day is as a thousand years it would take that long to express my thankfulness for all I've been blessed with.