Thankyou!!!

It’s Thanksgiving Day in the USA! Many people are gathering with loved ones today to ‘endure’ turkey and tryptophan, while others are grateful for the day off from work so that they can indulge in a lazy day of vicariously living through professional football players, as they watch the traditional Thanksgiving Day games. Of course, it cannot be forgotten that John Madden and his cohorts will engorge themselves on ‘Turducken” (a turkey, duck and chicken creation of some ‘genius’ who was determined to kill himself with an overdose of ‘bird’ meat). While all this merriment is occurring, some are ‘holed up’ alone at home, miserably wringing their hands and wishing for the day to quickly come to an end. Others defiantly shake their fists in the air at an “invisible” God, blaming Him for whatever ills have befallen them or their loved ones, while others lament His ‘apparent’ abandonment of them.

Some will fight over the turkey being too well done or underdone. Others will argue about the merits of using broth over water to make the stuffing, and the real geniuses will fight over how much honey should be used on the honeyed duck. In the rest of the world though, it will be business as usual. American Soldiers and their UN counterparts will patrol war ravaged areas, trying to give hope and comfort to others while not feeling it themselves. In Mumbai, India, many will be mourning the inevitable change that has come to their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks and the consequent death of hundreds. In Darfur, Rwanda and the Congo, the lucky kids will feed off the ground on whatever they can find while the majority will go hungry.

So today I wanted to say: I’m thankful to live in America. I’m thankful for a nation that gives me the opportunity to be free, and to succeed. I'm thankful that I can write a blog and have you read it. I’m thankful that I can watch football, eat turkey and stuffing (I hate the stuff!), and hang out with my friends and family. I’m thankful for young men and women on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting for my freedom at the expense of theirs. I’m thankful that the people dearest to me are near me today, and those who aren’t, are only a phone call away. So today I say a prayer for all those who have forgotten the many reasons they have to be thankful, and I pray that they are reminded of what a great country they live in so they can at least give thanks for that. I’m confident that many in Darfur, Rwanda and Mumbai would gladly change places with them today… and be truly thankful for it! Have a blessed Thanksgiving.