I finally caught up with our middle son this afternoon. He’s stationed in Germany, and will be coming home next month.
I knew he was scheduled for some time off, but we never know until a little before he leaves whether it’s going to work out. He’s finalized his flight in, and given us a pickup time.
He’ll get to be home for about a month, so my mom is planning on cooking an early Thanksgiving so he can celebrate with us. He’s always liked ‘green stuff’ (pistachio salad) so I’m sure that will be on the menu.
We really have an old-fashioned, right-out-of-Southern Living spread at Thanksgiving and Christmas – turkey and dressing (my mother’s is always just right), sweet potato casserole, peas, butter beans, rolls, cranberry sauce (the kind that slides right out of the can), and usually some great salads and casseroles. Coconut cake and pies – who can argue with that kind of meal?
I’m so looking forward to seeing him – he’s never met his nephew (whose birthday was yesterday) and he’s only seen some of the other nieces and nephews a few times, so he’s in for a real treat. I’m sure we’ll have to arrange some kind of day just for the kids to crawl around on him and let him know how proud they are of him.
I’m very proud of my son and all the others who serve our country- even if they serve in peacetime, they make a sacrifice no one else can imagine, and they don’t ask for any recognition – I remember the first time we picked him up at the airport – a group of folks from a military support group were there, and every time a few soldiers came through the gate, they stood and applauded. Most of the men and women looked slightly embarrassed, as if they’d prefer to just walk on without all the attention. Next time you see a soldier or other military person, say thank you…

I’ve been reminded through several things this week that I am called to be thankful in all things- not just the good things, but the bad as well. The Bible says “all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose”. I’ve had a rough time over a situation going on, and I had just about given up on things working out, but God reminded me to pray and turn things over to Him. Almost immediately afterwards, I found out that things are going to work out, and will be better than I expected.
One of my favorite Bible stories is in Genesis, the story of Isaac’s father wanting to find a wife for him. He sent a servant back to their homeland to find one from among his kinfolks; I was reading the story the other day and a phrase caught my attention: while the servant was looking for a wife for Isaac, he prayed, asking God to give him guidance. The Bible says “and while he was still praying” God answered his prayer (emphasis added). We’re so quick to think God isn’t listening, or that He won’t answer us, that we forget how often He answers “while we were still praying”…
Please remember to be thankful for the good and bad things in your life- you never know what will come from them.

Johnny Appleseed

Oh, the Lord’s been good to me, and so I thank the Lord
for giving me, the things I need, the sun and the rain and the apple seed;
Oh, He’s been good to me!

A little girl I used to know, sang this as her blessing at mealtime. It’s from the Disney short, Johnny Appleseed. I’ve always thought that was a sweet way to say thanks for what we have.

Are we thankful for what we have? That’s something I struggle with every day. I want to let God know that I’m thankful for what He’s done for me, but I let other things get in the way. And I have more things than ever to be thankful for- our family is doing well and growing (a new grandbaby due any time!) we’re doing some much-needed work to our house, my business is growing. One of my goals is to stay in a thankful attitude and to keep the main thing, the main thing.

Like the old song says, when things get bad, start counting your blessings. You’ll be glad you did!

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