Happy Thanksgiving week! Thanksgiving Day conjures different images and memories for everyone. Some of us anticipate stressful family dinners, while others have no one to spend the day with. Some families welcome newborns at Thanksgiving; others will mourn the loss of a precious loved one.
Whatever you’re facing this Thanksgiving, I hope you can find things to thank God for. Here’s part of my list:
Foremost I’m thankful for my mom’s health. She fell and shattered her knee in February. She broke 15 bones and two vertebrae in August in a tragic car accident. God has healed her, and she can do everything she could do before her fall and accident. But she can’t run unless she’s being chased by a bear, on doctors’ orders.
I’m thankful for Sports Medicine at One Vernon Place in Meadville. I can’t say enough good things about their staff. Mike Carr, who has worked patiently with my daughter for the past three months to rehabilitate her dislocated knee and strained ligament, is one of the kindest, most considerate medical professionals I’ve ever met. He takes time to speak personally with me after each session and explain my daughter’s progress. It’s a gift and a blessing to have Sports Medicine available to athletes in our community. And I’m so grateful to God for my daughter’s healing.
I’m thankful the weather has allowed me to walk outside since March. I walked in the snow in my yard a few days this month, but I’ve been able to walk on the roads most days. Anemic sunshine is better than fluorescent lights at a gym. And even if I only see cardinals and blue jays when I set out black oil sunflower seeds, their beautiful presence makes me smile.
I’m thankful for rosy sunrises and a full spectrum of blues at sunset.
I’m thankful I can walk to my kitchen, turn a knob, and drink the best water in the world. I’m thankful for hot showers, too.
I’m grateful for a son who mowed for six weeks while I drove from a hospital to a rehab center to Sports Medicine day after day.
I’m thankful for a father and son who cut down three dead ash trees and split the wood. Doggone ash borers!
I’m thankful for the chance to work with children through Sunday school, youth group, Vacation Bible School, and Jamestown Presbyterian Church’s Wonderful Wednesdays program.
I’m thankful I can still play my trumpet in my church’s praise ensemble and that I’m learning to play the guitar.
I’m thrilled to be nearly finished with my first round of revisions on my novel. It’s taken a year, but I’m almost finished writing and revising it. I plan on revising it one more time. Then I’ll submit it for publication.
And I’m thankful for this column, and Community News, so I can share whatever God lays on my heart each week with you, my readers.
I recommend listening to “Give Thanks” by Henry Smith, brewing a cup of coffee or tea, and writing down the top ten things you’re thankful for in 2019. Put it somewhere you can see it, and praise God for each of his gifts every day. You’ll be happier for it.
I wish you all God’s blessings this Thanksgiving.