Back From Thanksgiving Vacation, and Still Thankful

Thanksgiving is over. The turkey is being used to fill lunches for a full week of work. And the many pies and other various sweets are thankfully gone, no longer tempting those of us who wish we hadn't had that last piece of pie in between NFL games on Sunday. But with all the Thanksgiving festivities finished there are still reasons to be thankful.

I first want to begin by saying that there are hundreds of men and women serving their country in Iraq and Afghanistan that didn't get to be with loved ones on Thanksgiving. They were busy protecting me and you so that we could enjoy giving thanks with family and friends. This generation of war fighters is following in the footsteps of the WWII generation, the Civil War generation and the Revolutionary generation, missing cherrished holidays so that we may be free. To them I give thanks and pray for their quick, safe return.

Next on the list is the continuous gift of family and friends. There is no greater support system for an individual than their family and friends. A person with no friends is the poorest person in the world; a person with no family support is deserving of the most charitable giving. With all the political bickering between the two ideologies, we should keep in mind that none of that matters compared to our families and friends. We should remind ourselves everyday of the joy that our spouse delivers to us.

My third choice for reasons to remain thankful even after our Day of Thanks is the very fact that we live in the United States. Folks, we live in the most prosperous country in history with the most liberty. Yes, we our system of government has its flaws and our history is not perfect, but where would any of you rather live all other things being equal. I am thankful to be a citizen of the United States. I am thankful for the gathering of minds that birthed our great nation. And I am thankful that there have been millions of people who have gone out to defend it from threats. God has truly blessed this nation and indirectly me.

Yes, we should always celebrate Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November, but we should always carry the sentiments of the day with us in our everyday lives. One day out of the year is not enough when it comes to giving thanks for all that we have and for all that we have not had to suffer.