Thanks-Living

I like Thanksgiving. I like being around family, the smells, the food, and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and seeing Santa bringing up the rear and bringing in the Christmas season. There's not really a build up nor a "well that's over" feeling afterwards either. It's a day we celebrate that the pilgrims didn't starve to death. (How the Europeans treated the Native Americans after they were settled - I'm sure the Native Americans wished their ancestors left the pilgrims to sink or swim on their own, but I digress...)

Anyway, this Thanksgiving, I was reminded that we should be more aware of our blessings everyday, and that we should have a "Thanks-Living" way of life with an "Attitude of Gratitude." Everyday I thank God for His blessings and ask Him to forgive me for taking so many for granted. It reminds me of a story of a man who was stranded on his roof during a flood. He asked God to save him. His neighbor came by in a little row boat, and the man said, "No, you go on. God is going to save me." Later the Coast Guard came by, and the man said, "No, you go rescue some others; God's taking care of me. Finally, as the water is lapping at his roof gutters, a helicopter flies over, but the man yells, "No thanks! God will take care of me!" Finally the flood waters envelope the man and he drowns. When he gets to heaven, he asks God, "God, I asked you to save me! What happened?" God replied, "I sent your neighbor, the Coast Guard, and a helicopter! What more did you want?!?"

Often in the day to day living, we forget about the little things that have been given to us. I asked my sixth graders to jot down some blessings, and while they wrote, I did, too. Here's some of mine: hummingbirds; watching a thunderstorm move in; taking a nap; playing four-square; the smell of brownies cooking; the smell of a horse barn; a good foot massage; my bird "kissing" me; Christmas carols; windchimes; Christmas tree lights; the first buds of spring; the coolness of an old barn on a summer day; a baby's laughter; watching a good movie with buttered popcorn, Milk Duds, and a Coke; finding seashells; the wind at the beach; roasting marshmellows over a fireplace; all my students' essays graded; the first and last day of school; the look of understanding; when our hand-bell choir is "with it"; and reading a book while soaking in the tub.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.