I’ve let everyone know several times that part of my daily ritual includes scanning news feeds, but there is another part that I enjoy even more.
My youngest daughter likes to walk with me through Facebook memories, mostly because she wants to see what I’ve written about her in the past.
For instance, every Halloween her conversation with me shows up: “Daddy!”
“What?”
“If you see any invisible vampires, stay alive and come tell us!”
God bless the children. They’re a gift.
This missive, though, came through last week — probably because of an early Thanksgiving or something — that put me in a somber, reflective mood:
“For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.”
I got to wondering that with all the writing I do decrying the sorry state of affairs in our world and especially our country, do I understand that event the ability to notice that, and to offer my two cents about it, is a gift that I should be grateful for?
Or better yet, should I be upset with such trivial things? That would mean that I don’t have faith in God’s plan for things. What I mean by that is God created this world and all its greatness, so what really can we do to destroy his creations? All we really do is damage ourselves.
So if nothing else, instead of making sure that there’s the right kind of green beans and fresh cranberries instead of that industrial paste in a can, I need to remember that there is a bounty in front of me, and that means more than just a table full of food.
There is family. There are friends. There is love. There is light. There is rest (sometimes). There is the ability to be productive. There is beauty. There is nature. There are the heavens. There is the Earth.
In remembering that, and all of the many gifts I’ve received, it becomes a balm to my soul.
Too many times, I find that I focus on the failures, the wrong, the twisted, and forget about all of the good. That’s why Thanksgiving is more than just a meal; it’s reconnecting with the positive, the good, the beautiful side of life, and that’s what make is super special.
However, I still appreciate that my wife learned how to cook one of my mother’s traditional holiday dishes (if you must know, it’s creamed spinach), that she’ll crack out today.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May God bestow you with blessings.
<i>Tony Farkas is editor of the Trinity County News-Standard and the San Jacinto News-Times. He can be reached at tony@polkcountypublishing.com.</i>
