Thanksgiving

I’m on a quest, an expedition. In many ways it feels like a brand new journey. I want to believe that I’ve been pursuing this aspiration my entire life. However, I’m confident that I have not, at least not to the degree that I should have been. So . . . my new goal: To Be Thankful. Yeah, I know, you were probably thinking that I was going to say something far more amazing or enlightening. Sorry! I’m simply on a mission to be grateful, truly thankful.

I am not completely sure where to start. And it makes me sad that I can’t just be grateful without having to compare with others who are experiencing some sort of loss, like unemployment or a death in the family, or living in a country without the freedoms we expect here in the U.S., or parents whose kid’s lives are spiraling out of control. I just want to sit on my front porch swing and be grateful.

But my spirit is restless. I’m pretty ego-centric and selfish!

Sister Thomas Aquinas, the former President of Aquinas College, in Nashville once scolded me as the school year began that I needed to learn to stop and celebrate the here and now. You know . . . live in the moment. We’d just had a record number of new freshmen and transfer students begin that fall semester. She and I compared numbers and goals and things looked great! I began looking to the spring semester. And she abruptly told me to stop! She said I needed to celebrate the accomplishments of the Admissions team over the past 6 months. She went so far as to make me plan a party! It was so funny, because I would never have done that. For me, once a goal is met, I check it off the list and move on to the next task. I rarely, sit back and think about how I got from point A to the conclusion and how very grateful I should be – to my family, to my friends, to colleagues, and most importantly to God. I just blaze a trail without counting my blessings!

So, I’m starting today. I’m grateful: For YOU, and my family (Sarah would say, “especially her”) and friends, for the beautiful autumn leaves, for a working vehicle, for a job, for my new friend, Becca, for baseball, for caramel apples, for sunbeams, for hummingbirds, for SWAY, for the amazing sunrise I witnessed this morning, for the smell of fresh cut grass, for sustained momentum, for books, for Sister Thomas Aquinas, for the cry of a newborn baby, for breath, and especially for Jesus!

Guess what’s in 26 days? Yep . . . Thanksgiving! Counting your blessings with me?