Thanksgiving

Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life.

-Brian Andreas

This morning I find myself sitting alone in the dark in the glow of our fireplace. A motor malfunction has prevented our furnace from firing since yesterday and of course it's a holiday weekend. But we have the fireplace and a fresh stock of wood to burn. And although the chill of night has drawn our indoor temperature down to a brisk 57°F (14°C), I can feel the fire's heat as it cuts through the darkness and penetrates my outer body in search of my bones. And as I sip my pre-sunrise coffee it warms my chest and stirs the fog in my sleepy head. It's quite here except for the crackling fire and I can almost hear the soft breathing of Denise and K asleep upstairs in the warmth and comfort of their heavy blankets and pleasant dreams. And here in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday I am keenly aware of how fortunate we are to have been dealt such a mundane inconvenience as a couple of days with a chilly house.

Our family has been blessed with much success and happiness. And I could rattle off a lengthy list of people and things that we are so thankful for this year. But in spite of my own thoughts of thankfulness, it has occurred to me that our daughters have taught us so much more this fall about giving thanks.

Through various discussions about her chosen field of study, elementary education, K has taught us to recognize the true value of those who educate our children. Their tireless efforts to provide care and knowledge to a parent's most valued assets serve both a short and long term need. I still recall fond memories of many of my own childhood teachers. Elementary teachers hold such an important and special place in the minds and lives of the children they inspire and I am proud that my daughter will one day hold such timeless importance to so many children and their parents.

M's ongoing mission work in a Bolivian orphanage has reminded us the value of family and the ease with which we take our lifestyle and comforts for granted. Being made so aware of so many children who have never known a loving family or simple comforts is heartbreaking. As M says: "...These things are not givens here. And so many don't have parents, or their parents abuse them, or abandon them. It is painful to see what a child's soul looks like who does not know true unconditional love."

Jenna and Matt have maintained their blog this month by daily postings of the little (and big) things in their lives that they are most thankful for. Following this all month I've found myself thinking how we deliver ourselves toward such a very comfortable existence and yet our busy lives make it difficult to notice and we seldom stop to appreciate what we have. Their blog has been a good reminder to count our blessings before they are gone.

Taking this all in I see that our comforts are many. But considering the utter despair felt by so many of God's children, our relative discomforts seem petty. So with this in mind, I'm thankful for a furnace to fix, snow to shovel, college tuition to finance, clothes to wash, food to prepare, bills to pay, Christmas shopping crowds to endure, weight to lose, daughters to miss, aging parents to attend to, careers to obey, darkness to navigate to and from work, and personal sacrifices to make. Many are not so blessed as to have even these.