Much to be thankful for

According to the news tonight most people don't have as much to be thankful for this year as they did last year. That's sad, because it means as a country we've begun to be thankful for "things". Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful that I have a place to live that is warm and has a decent roof. I'm also thankful that I have a job, but I'm more thankful that earlier this year when I was seriously looking for a job there were people who cared enough about me to pray and send good thoughts my way about the situation. You see, I realized something a few years ago. "Things" are way less important then people and the relationships we have in our lives.

I've been blessed with an amazing parents who have always encouraged me and been there to help when they can. Not only great parents, but I also have a wonderful extended family that I'm thankful for.

Then there are friends. I seriously don't know how I would have survived the last couple of years if I had had a few of you around to call and talk to, cry with or just hang out with. That's just the people who I know IRL, then there's the amazing people who I "hang with" on Ravelry, especially the girls in my NASCAR groups. You all rock! (Even if some of you haven't been to Waffle House or Cracker Barrel. That we can remedy with a well thought-out trip.)

Last night I went to the Thanksgiving Eve service at church and our minister asked those who were there and willing to share what they were thankful for. The lists ranged from the traditional family/friends to the continued healing of a grandchild from a brain tumor, to those who serve and protect us here at home and away from home. One young man stood up and said he was thankful that his friend thought enough of him to invite him to church that night. The minister shared that one lady that week had said she was thankful that our church was able to help her provide her family with food and now she was able to pass that help along to others.

This year, I hope you stopped long enough to think about all the things you have to be thankful for. Yes, the stock market isn't looking so lovely, and some of us are wondering if we'll ever be able to retire and actually afford to live. Others are wondering if they'll have food for tomorrow's dinner or where they'll live next week or next month. But we still have much to be thankful for. We live in a country where the possibilities are endless. Where as my mother says, you can be born in a small coal mining camp and grow up to own your own business, or travel the world, or become anything you want. Where if you're willing to work, you can not just dream dreams, you can make those dreams come true.

Tomorrow we'll return to our normal lives of trying to "get" as much as we can, but for today, I pray, we all took time to be thankful for what we've really "got".