Happy Thanksgiving Day! An Attitude of Gratitude

Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving Day to everyone!

Today is a day that we really do need to think about all the different things that we have to be grateful for. That is something that we all may need to work on more often, but at least once a year, there is a special day to set aside to call to mind the many blessings we have in our lives.

My family is going to spend tomorrow together at my mother's, making OUR turkey and all its trimmings for her, with her. It is the result of my son's asking me what I am doing on Friday, my day to spend with Mom after I get home from work. And Mom, when we asked her if it was OK, was tickled pink. She asked what she needed to do. I told her 'Be there!" She asked me what she needed to make. I told her nothing, but if you want to help by peeling potatoes or something, you are welcome to it. She laughed. Then forgot what we were going to do. I asked her to write it down in her notebook, so she would remember.....

Blessings are not all just 'good things, happy things'. Today, we forget that sometimes blessings also come as a result of pain, suffering, hard times. We run from them most often.

There is an old saying in many of our homes when things are not going well. "Offer it up". Uniting it with Christ's sufferings, rather than moan and groan about it does not lessen the hard times, but helps us to look beyond the mere present. 'Redemptive suffering' is a term that we use. It is a way to help bring some good out of our own sufferings, not to add to what Jesus Christ did. Nothing can compare to that love He had for us, nor to the suffering He went through to redeem us.

I am thankful and grateful for my three children, now adults, and their spouses, as well as their children.

Thankful that my Mom is still with us.

Thankful that I am relatively healthy. That I have had the opportunity to continue my education, and have two professions that enable me to earn a living AND serve others.

Thankful for the friends that have entered my life, some for a long time--some for a very short time. Some are true friends, some just acquaintances, and some are 'cyber-friends' who have come to mean very much to me.

I am grateful for even the hard times in our life, as it taught me how to set boundaries, how to love the sinner while separating that person from the sin. I have work to do in that area, for certain.

There is much more, but some are very private, some very minimally interesting, some just plain silly.

(Wondering, though, what you may be doing for Thanksgiving Day!)

AA/Alanon calls it 'An Attitude of Gratitude', 'One Day at a Time'....

God bless!