Sacred Cynicism

Recession, Bah Humbug!

This has been a rough year all around. It has been a bad year economically not only for the US, but around the world as well. Many people have changed jobs, or lost jobs, and that has led to a year without. In the midst of times like this it is easy to grow embittered about the circumstances around us. Perhaps this is a good time to remember that the first Thanksgiving grew from another time of trial and hardship, and even though this is still a time of challenge, there are many things in which to be thankful. Here is my list. My list is not exhaustive and sometimes silly, but it is genuine.

I am thankful for enough. To be sure, there is more I think I can use, and more that I might gladly accept; but I must admit that I have enough. I am thankful for the peanut butter that I rarely use. It just sits in the pantry waiting for the day when we are out of all the other things we use to make sandwiches. Much of the world would love that peanut butter.

I am thankful for our old TV purchased in 1985. No it is not big, nor is it HD, but it enables me to watch the game instead of Dancing With the Stars, What Not To Wear, Say Yes to the Dress, or whatever other feminized thing my wife is watching.

I am thankful for my favorite leather jacket. It is the most comfortable jacket ever made, and it keeps me warm once November starts. Warm is good. Warm is underrated. To be warm in a comfortable jacket is a bonus.

I am thankful for hot showers. The hot shower is perhaps the greatest achievement of humanity, next to the 2-out RBI.

I am thankful for Advil. After thousands of years of human history, how am I so lucky that when a headache comes, I can just take a few Advil.

I am thankful for Diet Pepsi – the sweet nectar of life. I always love Diet Pepsi, but I really love it when I am starting to get a scratchy throat, and the combination of the cold of the drink and the fizz… aahhhh.

I am thankful that I do not know a single person who has ever died, or suffered from Polio, Cholera, Smallpox, the Measles, Whooping Cough, or the Plague. When else in history could anyone reasonably be able to say such a thing?

I am thankful for my great circle of old friends in Fair Park. We made forts, treehouses, and cut down trees in the woods together. We played sports together, and fought with and for each other. I also learned about trust, dependability, and loyalty with you guys – thanks.

I am even more thankful for my great circle of current friends. Because of you I laugh on bad days, mourn on good days, feel lifted up at unexpected times, and you make me genuinely smile. You know who you are.

I am thankful the 70s were a momentary hiccup in history, and not a lasting cultural event. There was way too much polyester, silk shirts, big medallions, and mutton chop sideburns. Any decade where the list of bad things goes for awhile before you even reach earth shoes, Disco Demolition, and Sonny and Cher should be a decade where one is thankful for its demise.

I am thankful for my first love. You inspired me, helped me become a better person, and gave me a reason to live as a teenager. At your best you were beautiful, flowing, athletic and graceful. Thank you Basketball.

I am thankful for the Razzmatazz at Jamba Juice, and Cream of Chicken Soup at Panera. One is my summer guilty pleasure, while the other takes its place in the winter. One cured me from my latent desire for milkshakes, and the other took the place of the double cheeseburgers from my youth.

I am thankful for low voter turnout. Turnout is low because politics are not a matter of life and death. I do not want to live in a place where politics are life and death.

I am thankful for Tahquamenon Falls, the Painted Desert. Agawa Canyon, Mills Lake, Old Mans Cave, Custer State Park and every other place where the creation has loudly proclaimed the majesty of its Creator. I am blessed to have seen these places.

I am thankful for that 7 iron I hit last month in my last round of the year. It was perfect, and missed being my first hole-in-one by about 3 inches. There is absolutely nothing like a well hit shot.

I am thankful for that round of golf I played with my son and my brother at Arcadia Bluffs in July. The weather was perfect, the scenery was spectacular, and time seemed to stand still. Life has way too many tense, hurtful moments, and not near enough moments like this one.

I am thankful that my kids are at college, and the phone calls where they tell me about some exciting event or new experience in their lives. I am thankful they are healthy, challenged, and God has blessed me with two wonderful children.

I am thankful for a wife who has joined me on this journey. We have built as life together, and I have never had to worry about whether she was doing anything that would harm our family. She has put up with me for a very long time now. 24 years goes very fast.

I am thankful for grace. An undeserved grace that enables me to live, and empowers me to be a part of the new creation Jesus started with His resurrection. It is a grace that fills me with hope. Even though I live in a world that is often a challenge, I know that the things which hurt and challenge us, their days are numbered.

SO in this year of challenge….Happy Thanksgiving!