To state the obvious--tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the one day devoted just to family and friends--or at least it was until the Christmas shopping season began Thanksgiving evening. Regardless, I think it is probably my favorite holiday of the year--and not just because I love stuffing.
Thanksgiving is a time to remember all that we are thankful for. For most of us, those thoughts go to the big ticket items: family, friends, home, health. Unfortunately, at this time of year, it is also a very real reminder for many that one or more of the big four are missing. For some, a loved one has passed away or family members are estranged. Others have been plagued by health issues. Perhaps friends have moved away or just fallen away, or the economy has forced someone from his or her home. in these cases, giving thanks this year may be more difficult than in years past.
Ann Voskamp became famous with her book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. In it she shares her life, her pain, but more importantly she shares the ordinary things in life that she is thankful for: a sunrise or "windmills lazying in twilight's last breeze." As she writes, she is "working, one-by-one, up to a thousand gifts. Not of gifts I want. But of gifts I have . . . ." She looks at the gifts God has given her "just as they happen, as they arrive, as they are unwrapped . . . the daily graces that He gives in an infinite number of ways, that stir me."
This Thanksgiving may we look for, appreciate, and share those everyday gifts and graces that God has given us. Happy Thanksgiving.
(All quotes for Ann Voskamp taken from her webpage A Holy Experience.)
Thanksgiving is a time to remember all that we are thankful for. For most of us, those thoughts go to the big ticket items: family, friends, home, health. Unfortunately, at this time of year, it is also a very real reminder for many that one or more of the big four are missing. For some, a loved one has passed away or family members are estranged. Others have been plagued by health issues. Perhaps friends have moved away or just fallen away, or the economy has forced someone from his or her home. in these cases, giving thanks this year may be more difficult than in years past.
Ann Voskamp became famous with her book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. In it she shares her life, her pain, but more importantly she shares the ordinary things in life that she is thankful for: a sunrise or "windmills lazying in twilight's last breeze." As she writes, she is "working, one-by-one, up to a thousand gifts. Not of gifts I want. But of gifts I have . . . ." She looks at the gifts God has given her "just as they happen, as they arrive, as they are unwrapped . . . the daily graces that He gives in an infinite number of ways, that stir me."
This Thanksgiving may we look for, appreciate, and share those everyday gifts and graces that God has given us. Happy Thanksgiving.
(All quotes for Ann Voskamp taken from her webpage A Holy Experience.)
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