Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.
– American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality Garrison Keillor was born on this day in 1942.
If you can read this, you’re pretty blessed.
Not because this blog carries brilliant content. It does, but that’s a different kind of blessing.
But, if you have a computer or a phone or an iPad and are able to scroll to this page, are able to see it, are able to read it, then you’re pretty blessed.
You’re even more blessed if you can read it and not be hungry. Because reality is, if you’re reading this and you’re hungry it’s most likely because of inaction and not the lack of food.
Perspective. It’s all perspective.
We’ve been given a lot in this country. And we take a lot for granted.
We should be thankful for our freedom, even when there are those who wish to take it away. In fact we should be thankful for it and guard it and protect it specifically because there are those who want to take it away.
Your version of what freedom is or isn’t being taken away may vary. That’s not the point.
We should be grateful for sunshine, and rain, and even (gulp) snow.
Here in Virginia I’m grateful that I can be at the beach in two hours, and in the mountains if I drive two hours in the other direction.
We’ve all got trials. We’ve all got struggles. We’ve all got burdens.
Your neighbor may seem to have more and better stuff than you do. They quite possibly also have more bills than you do for said stuff.
It’s the American way.
Maybe, just maybe, we need to stop focusing on the things we don’t have and start focusing on the things we do have.
There’s a question that occasionally makes the rounds on social media.
What if you woke up tomorrow and only had the things you thanked God for today?
Reality is, here in America, we’d still be pretty blessed.
Be thankful today is Friday.
Be thankful for what you have.
Be thankful for the weather, whatever it turns out to be.
That doesn’t mean you can’t want, or wish for, or work for other things.
Just remember what you already have.
I’m preaching to the choir here.
And, I’m thankful for that choir.