Sacred Cynicism

Last week I popped into a department store for a quick purchase and heard the familiar sounds of Christmas music. Nowadays that can only mean one thing – Thanksgiving must be getting close. This is a part of our culture that drives me nuts – Christmas music weeks before Thanksgiving. It just feels like we are trampling over Thanksgiving, just to encourage people to buy, buy, buy.

I am protective of Thanksgiving, for in many ways it is my favorite holiday. I like everything about it. It is low key. The food is fantastic. There is a football game on, and there is family everywhere. There is also pie. Any special day or holiday that features pie is a good thing. Perhaps the greatest reason I like the holiday so much is because we have a chance to think about all of the things we are thankful for. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, let me list some of the things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful my children are healthy. I am thankful for 25 years of marriage, it does not seem anywhere near that long. I am thankful my wife and I got to see a new, beautiful area of the country for the first time this year. I am thankful for a home, safety, and enough. I am thankful for Black Raspberry Jelly, grape is too pedestrian.  Unfortunately, I am thankful for effective pain medication while passing a kidney stone. I am thankful my life has been blessed, and I can consider myself fortunate. These are the kinds of things for which we are all grateful. We like to celebrate things, blessings, and material prosperity. This Thanksgiving, perhaps it would be a good idea to think about a host of other things, and be thankful. Parts of life that are often neglected, yet are things which have proved to be a benefit to us. So here is my expanded, 2011 things for which I am thankful list.

I am thankful for the times we struggled to make ends meet – it helped me to appreciate life, and enabled me to appreciate the extras in life for the blessings they are. I am thankful for those times when I realize my knowledge is limited, and I do not know – these times are great opportunities for new knowledge and growth. I am thankful for all the things I realize I have been wrong about, for it led to new insight. I am thankful for people who are quite different than me, really thankful. I am thankful for fellow Christians who look at the faith completely differently than I do, boy do I learn a lot from you. I am thankful for the times my mom told me “No.” I am thankful for the times when we had to tell our kids, “no,” and for the people they have become at least partially as a result.

I am thankful there are times I really miss some people, that means love is present in my life. I am thankful that sickness and pain seem so strange to me, for that means health has been a regular visitor. I am thankful that so many people smile when they see me, I would hate to go through life if everyone frowns when they see me. I am thankful for words that make me smile – coach, dad, grace, forgive, and Indians Win the World Series!! Well, a boy can dream. I am thankful my kids enjoy being out of the house – it means they were ready to go.

Of all the things for which I am thankful, perhaps this is the one thing at the top of my list. This is a Thanksgiving where there are no fractured relationships, no people who cause me anxiety. This is a great blessing. It could be that I am too dumb to notice, so if I owe you an apology, please let me know – for I want to say this next year, and really be right. Most of all I am thankful for One who came to Earth and demonstrated that forgiveness and reconciliation are possible. So to everyone – Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!