Giving thanks: an abridged list

So Thanksgiving week is upon us, and aside from menu planning and grocery shopping and fasting in preparation for the annual eatathon on Thursday, our thoughts naturally turn to taking stock of our lives and counting our blessings. I must confess I hardly know where to start with any kind of inventory of what I'm thankful for this year. I have a pretty great life, and I don't say that to brag, but to acknowledge that God's been much better to me than I deserve.

I'm thankful for a husband that gets me and loves me and makes me laugh and still romances me after twenty years together. I'm thankful for two healthy, funny, quirky children that make my life richer even on the days when I think maybe I can't survive their drama. I'm thankful for parents that give me unconditional support and would drop everything to help me out when I'm in a bind.

I'm thankful for a great school for my kids to go to, and for godly, nurturing teachers that start to feel like part of our family. I'm thankful for the beautiful area in which we live, and the rolling hills, lush valleys, and fall colors all aflame that I can see just by looking out of my windows. I'm thankful for a warm house and a full pantry and a car that gets us where we need to go. I'm thankful for hot, running water whenever I want it. I'm thankful for a strong, healthy body that works just like it should.

I'm thankful for the random things, too. A washer and dryer. Worship music at church. Crisp, cold days. School field trips. Jeans that fit just right. The light over the kitchen sink that makes it easier to see to wash dishes. Flannel sheets. The chance to travel. Agent K offering Pirate Boy her pen in church when she notices the one he's trying to use is all dried up. Doing things that make me feel needed. Sparkly nail polish. A friend who braved public scorn to go see the new Twilight movie with me this week. All the little things that make up real life and sometimes get lost in the living.

And because it doesn't make much sense to be thankful if there's no one that you're thankful to, all gratitude to God, who bestowed on me all these things and to whom I can offer nothing in return but my attempts at an obedient life and my empty hands lifted to the praise of His glory.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17