CAREFUL: I use big words...

In case you haven't figured this out already, I've been using certain of my flair collection on Facebook to provide titles for these posts... original? Nope. But they can be very entertaining, & I think it's such a shame that my flair collection would simply go to waste otherwise. ;)

Today is/was Thanksgiving! Just in case you didn't catch that earlier, I thought you might appreciate being made aware.

It's interesting really. A whole day out of the year set aside to ... be thankful. To be grateful? But, why?

In the "National Thanksgiving Proclamation", as cited to George Washington & found at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/National_Thanksgiving_Proclamation (that's right, I just cited a wiki, but it's okay because this isn't a scholarly work ;) the purpose of Thanksgiving is "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Awesome, yeah? A whole day set aside to give thanks & praise God for all the blessings He has & continues to give us as individuals, families, and a nation.

At least, that's what it was then. But what is it now?

I suppose for a follower of Christ, for those who acknowledge a higher power that blesses, it is a day to be thankful. But suppose the celebrator does not acknowledge a higher power in need of thanking? What then is being thanked on this holiday?

I suppose it could simply be an acknowledging of those blessings, regardless of the source, or perhaps independent of the source is a better phrasing... A day to sort of cultivate a "count your blessings" mentality, beneficial to the happy & prosperous living of everyday life... Maybe? That seems to make sense.

But I thank God.

For the family I live with, and live away from, and the love I bear them both.
For the friends near and far, and the multiplicity of ways I communicate with them.
For theatre, in all its forms, and the truth it strives to express.
For writing, in its many varied faces, and the freedom it brings my soul.
For my church families, in every place, and the kindred love we bear each other.
For the Church, "she may be a whore, but she's still my mother!" and I love her.
For painting, and the beauty in each brushstroke.
For music I make & that which I hear and the heartsong it gives voice to.
For health and youth, and that it won't last forever.
For Pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, cranberry fluff, and turkey.
For candles melting wax, and crayons that decorate green bottles.
For sleeping in a bed, under warm covers, with a teddy bear.
For heaters! Yay warmth!!
For the first snow... and that it didn't stick yet.
For shiny.
For laughter.
For tears.
For dreams.
For books.
For boots and trench coats.
For defenestration.
For spellcheck and that little red line under my words.
For freedom.
For liberty.
For grace.
For mercy.
For hope.

Most of all, for love. That's really what I couldn't do without, and it's what it all comes down to.

Thank you, Father-God, Lord of my heart, Love of my Life, Creator of every Good, and my Friend, for showing me this wild Love.

Happy Thanksgiving!