Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving will always be a special holiday for me. I married my wife on Thanksgiving Day forty-seven years ago. And she’s had to put up with a lot of turkey over these forty-seven years.

Our youngest was almost born on Thanksgiving. He was born the day before. When she was pregnant, we were convinced she carried a girl. We didn’t do a sonogram. We wanted to be surprised. And we were so surprised our girl came out a boy, it took twenty-four hours to come up with his name.

We were so sure he was a girl, we only had one name: Caitlyn Aileen. For the first day or so, he was known as Number 5 before we settled on his moniker.

It’s easy for us to be thankful at this time of year. Our lives were forever changed on this day. The only greater day was May 24, 1974—the day we found Jesus. Of course, he wasn’t lost—he knew where he was all the time: waiting for us to receive him and his grace and salvation.

We’re thankful for each other.

We’re thankful for the life we’ve lived even with all its heartache and loss. Each one brought us closer to God. We don’t pretend to understand everything that’s happened in our lives. We depend on him and his mercy. We know he has a plan and it is good. Without him, we would not have made it through losing our eldest when he was twenty-four. We would not have made it through my major and complicated heart surgery.

We’re thankful we can enjoy genuine friendships with each of our now-adult children.

We’re thankful that this year God led us to a new church with beautiful people, led by an awesome pastor and staff, full of worship of our God.

We’re thankful for all the wonderful friends he has brought into our lives over the years.

We’re thankful he’s not done with us yet and we’re looking forward to the new adventures he has for us.

What are you most thankful for this year?