Giving Thanks for Being Thankful...

It's that time of year again when we think of family and friends.  When we get our mouths ready to taste oh so delicious foods and baked goods.  When we think...of giving thanks for all we have and for who we know.  It's that time when we take the time to spend with those we love and to do those things we seldom have enough time to do like...read...watch tv...live...love...laugh.  Well even though most of us are thankful, have we ever thought about being thankful for being thankful.

Let me break it down.  It is common knowledge that we should be thankful for our health and our family and friends.  That we should be truly thankful we have food to place on our tables and clothes to put on our backs.  That we should be truly thankful for the life we live and the places we are allowed to visit.  Being thankful for those things and those people..is easy.  But have you ever taken the time to thank God for the fact that you ARE thankful.

To many of us, the word "thanks" has become as common as "how are you?"  Friends, there are many other situations we could find ourselves in and many other people we could find ourselves with.  We could have grown up in poverty...in countries who give you little recognition as a human being.  We could be standing in the soup line just to get a bowl of soup to eat at least once that day.  We could be struggling with paying our bills and wondering if it is better to eat to fill our stomachs than to pay for our prescriptions and get better.  We could be standing outside in the cold and rain without any type of shelter except for those that open at certain times each evening.  We could be sleeping on a cot with just a blanket to cover our tired and worn feet.

Has it ever occured to you that everything you have is a blessing.  That you did NOTHING to deserve any of it?  That God did not pick you to be more blessed than any of His other children?  Being thankful should not be something we just "say" rather something we "feel."  None of us deserve any of the things we have nor the relationships we enjoy but because of His grace and His mercy, we do. Give thanks as they say with a grateful heart.  Thank God for what you are, what you were and what you will be.  Thank God for undeserved blessings each and every day.  Thank God you are here to enjoy nature and all it has to offer.  That you can see, smell, feel, hear and taste.  Thank God for being truly thankful and have a wonderful, bountiful and blessed Thanksgiving!