Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thankful...



Happy Thanksgiving to all of my US readers!  I have been asked several times lately what I am thankful for and could give the standard "pat" answers but this year- I truly mean them.  I am thankful for my family- but, what I am even more thankful for this year is having my dad here.  You see, 2 1/2 weeks ago something happened that could have easily made this Thanksgiving completely different.  2 1/2 weeks ago I was preparing my Kindergarten students for dismissal when I read a text from my mom that my dad had been hit by car while he was out cycling.  It was a hit and run and she told me that he had hit his shoulder and scraped up his elbow.  I had two parent teacher conferences and as time went by my mom told me that she was taking him to the ER because his hip was hurting and he was barely able to walk.  My school is about 5 minutes from the hospital so I met them there and stayed with them for about an hour- I needed to see that he was okay.  You see, what made this so raw was that not quite a month before our community lost a family member (her mom is a doctor and pastor in town) to a cycling accident.  The reality that it could have been a similar fate gave me great pause.  As it turned out there were no breaks- but there is a healing process that is going to take some time.  As I watch my dad hobble around I can't help but give thanks that he's there to hobble because just a few more inches to the right and there could have been a different outcome.  So, yes, I am thankful for all of the amazing things that God has blessed me with- a job, friends, family, a church family here in IN and the extended church family in TN, the ability to run and exercise (which is a whole different post), etc, but this year I am going to truly appreciate them.

So- my Thanksgiving challenge to you- Tell those you love how much you love and appreciate them- I know I won't take it for granted anymore.




This image is a free printable found HERE (and it's a great blog as well)