The Thanksgiving holiday is almost upon us and my list of things I am most grateful for continues to grow day by day. Here's this week's top seven things I am blessed to have:
- Our house. This is not a house I love, but it is a safe, dry, comfortable and secure place to live. Compared to 90% of the homes in the world, I live in a veritable palace. In fact, the typical house in Rutherford county is larger than the castles that housed royalty in Medieval times. May I always be grateful for the blessing of having a permanent shelter to dwell in. It's far more than my Lord had here on this earth.
- Our home. (No, that's not a repeat of #1.) Our home - where we gather as a family - has been relocated many times. But having a place for family and friends to share food, fellowship, laughter and tears, means I have a home. May it be ever so humble, there truly is no place like it.
- My talents. God has blessed me to be able to do many things. It is tempting (and easy) to dwell on the things I can't do - or can't do well - but more important is what I can do, and what I do with the gifts that have been given to me.
- The talents of others. I am not an island unto myself; I may be talented, but there are definitely many talents I lack. Thankfully, those talents rest with others around me. May I always look for the talents in each person in my path - be thankful for them, most especially for the things they can do that I cannot.
- The trials of life. It's never fun to be tested and tried. It is less fun to fail at something, or to be disciplined. But just as fire refines silver by removing impurities, the trials of life allow me to become stronger and more focused on what is important to my walk here on earth.
- My physical senses. I can feel the downy softness of a puppy's head, hear the infectious laughter of a child, see the glorious splendor of man and nature, and smell and taste the delicious flavors and aromas of food. What would life be like without our senses? I'm glad I don't have to know!
- Time. You know the expression, "time is money." We refer to time like it is just that - we spend it, we waste it, we invest it, we manage it, we even find and lose it. In cold, hard financial terms, there is a time value to money - it's why bankers charge interest on loans. But time is far more precious than money because we can't make more of it. Let me not squander the time that I have, but make the most of each day I have ahead of me - it's truly a gift.
Happy counting,
