A Litany of Thanksgiving

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by Kiera Rich KRich13@bellsouth.net

 

My husband and I didn’t do much of anything for Thanksgiving as most of my November has been spent with me on the couch trying to wait out a stubborn case of Mono.  Although our celebration was small and private, it was still very special.  We snuggled on the couch as we ate warm coffee cake and drank OJ; and we watched the Macy’s parade.   The parade is another long-standing tradition that began in my childhood.  However, it may be on its way out.  I know it’s terribly old-school of me but I actually like to see some marching bands in my parades. 

 

As our Thanksgiving Day progressed, we watched football, ate turkey, and simply enjoyed the gift of each other’s company.  I am big on reflection and tradition so as the day wore on, I mentally began to form my annual “What am I thankful for this year” list. 

 

The first things that came to mind were the big ones.  I’m thankful for our awesome God who sent His son to Calvary to die for my sins.    I’m thankful to have the Holy Scriptures as a guide for the way I live my life.  I’m thankful for my husband and for having a place I like to come home to.  I am also thankful for my extended family — those I’m actually related to by blood and those who are the family of my heart.

 

I’m thankful to be living in the United States  where I can worship, live, travel, and eat any time I want without any restrictions or fear. 

And then my mental list got stuck.  I could think of things — lots of things.  But as quickly as I added them to the list, I erased them.  Why?  Because I didn’t think they were big enough things to be thankful for.  Now there’s a silly concept if I ever heard one!   I think sometimes I get so caught up praying about the “big” things that I forget to talk to God about the little things.  I forget to thank Him for the thousands of tiny ways that He blesses my life.  The little things that hardly seem to matter when taken one at a time but without these things, there would be all the difference in the world.

 

Things like laughing so hard that my face hurts or taking long walks and drinking in the smells of the season…fresh cut grass and hamburgers on the grill, burning leaves and fireplaces chasing away the chill…

Taking a hot shower on a cold night or a refreshing cold shower in the steamy heat of summer. 

Real mail that someone actually took the time to send just to me.  Not that stuff that’s addressed to “occupant.”

I’m also thankful for the instantaneousness of e-mail.  It makes the miles between here and there not seem so far.

I’m thankful for homemade Valentines and  a happy drawing of an orange, carrot-loving horse that adorns our refrigerator.

I’m thankful for the beauty God instilled in the changing of the seasons – the brilliant colors of the dying leaves every fall.  The starkness and peacefulness of new fallen snow.  The excitiment and freshness in the springtime air and the long, lazy days of summer that end in technicolor sunsets. 

I’m also thankful for creature comforts.  For hot towels just out of the dryer, an especially good piece of toast first thing in the morning.  I’m thankful for a back-rub or a hug or even just a smile from someone who loves me.  I’m thankful for hot chocolate on cold, winter nights, grilled cheese when I’m sick and for frosty lemonade to chase away the heat of summer.  I’m thankful for new socks and old clothes that bring a feeling of comfort and security.

 I’m thankful for the good teachers who have influenced my life.  Some gave me courage.  Some gave me confidence.  All of them helped me to seek and find and become the person God created me to be. 

I’m thankful for new crayons every fall — yes, I still buy them even though I’m decades removed from the “supply list” generation.  I’m thankful for public libraries that are stuffed full of more information and adventures and knowledge than I could ever digest.

 

I’m thankful for life’s surprises.  An unexpected long distance phone call.   Running into an old friend at the grocery store and having the time to stand in the produce section and talk for an hour. Flowers when I don’t expect them and impromptu dances in the kitchen.

 

I’m thankful for laughter and for puns.  I’m thankful for the ability to see humor in everyday situations.  I’m thankful that I can laugh at myself — or for absolutely no reason at all.

 

I’m thankful for the cooing of babies and for the giggles of little kids.  I’m thankful for the resounding, deep whooping laugh of my grandfather.  Though he’s been dead for years, his laughter still lingers in my mind.

 

Although at times I feel like I’m at war with it, I’m still thankful for my body.    I am thankful that I can laugh, sing, and dance whenever I want to.  I’m thankful for good workouts and sore, well-used muscles and for the availability and abundance of healthy food.  

 

I’m thankful for my hands and feet.  For the ability to type and write and draw and create.  I love holding hands with my husband and the feeling of kicking him in the middle of the night when he snores. 

 

I’m thankful for this world.  For the mountains and the beaches and the prairies.  For the oceans and forests and ice caps.  And the millions of God’s creatures that inhabit every area of the globe.

 

I’m thankful for swings and Dr. Seuss and board games and holiday traditions.  I’m thankful for the love and devotion of some really wonderful cats.  Well…three wonderful cats… Anyone want the fourth?

I’m thankful for music and how, over the years, my moods have all developed their own little soundtracks.  I’m also thankful for the music, which at times, has moved me to believe.

I’m thankful for sunrises and sunsets…that occur everyday…no matter what kind of upheaval the world is in…the sun still rises and sets…faithfully.

I’m thankful for storms and rainbows, for snowmen and sand castles and kites flying through a cloudless sky.

 

I’m thankful for getting out of bed each morning and for praying each evening to my God who listens.

 

I’m thankful for the thousands of people that have touched my life.  Some I’ve known for years.  Some I knew very briefly.  Some I’ve never met.  But all of them have affected me in a significant way.  And some have changed my life profoundly.   

I think it’s important to remember all these little things that give us joy.  All the people that have shaped us and loved us and wanted the best for us.  All of the simple gifts God gives us everyday, if only we remember to look.

 

His fingerprints are everywhere.  In every aspect of our lives – even in the seemingly insignificant areas.  Sometimes, I do see His fingerprints everywhere.  Sometimes they’re not easy to see.  Sometimes, others have to point them out to me.  Sometimes, I don’t see them at all.  But they’re always there.  Just like God…and for His faithfulness – in every area of my life…I am so incredibly thankful.

 

Amen.

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Tags: Christian Creative Writing, christian life, holiday celebrations, prayer, thankfulness, thanksgiving, tradition