Thankful:  the state of being aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving! Who doesn't love Turkey Day, right? Lots of family, my mom's dressing, my Grams' cranberry salad, the excitement of putting up a tree tomorrow....and, oh yeah, celebrating 'thanks'.  I'll admit, that part of Thanksgiving, the giving thanks part, gets more important to me every year.  As I age, my blessing grow, I know.  But, as I experience more of the world, I am more acutely aware of the richness of my life.  The blessings of health, joy, true friends, family, time, resources, freedom, love, and peace.

The addition of lasting love and precious children should make anyone's heart swell.  And,  teaching those children to have a thankful heart is of the most important things I will do. Surely, if we can just teach our kids to be aware and grateful for all they've been blessed with, they will turn out all right.  Right? :)  I'm banking on the fact that it should be hard to turn into a drug lord or an ax murderer with true thanksgiving.  Get back to me on that in 20 years and we'll see:).

Last night, because my kitchen was overflowing with Thanksgiving feast preparation, we headed out to dine and ran into a man from our church.  I recognized him and we've said hello several times at church, but I didn't know his name or his story.  Thanks to my newly outgoing 4 yr old, this is what I now know:   His name is Arthur and he's in a wheel chair because he has only one leg.  He lost the other after a gun shoot wound that lead to gangrene.  He lives alone and he had just spend all day at the hospital for some tests....alone.  Some days he is unable to get out of bed and into his chair.  And he was alone that night, resting in the night air before heading back to his apartment.  And as he told us his story, he said that he was thankful.  Thankful to be alive.  Thankful for all that God has given him.

I am glad that Arthur reminded me what I already knew, each of us has infinitely more to be thankful for than we even realize.  Grateful for all that is good, and even what we think is bad.  Because there is richness and blessing in hardship.  And thankfulness is a choice...an attitude we have to remind ourselves to have, even when it's not easy.  So, as Garrett would say (although in regard to me making a toy talk) "BE IT"!  Thankful, that is. :)