The Wading Pool

Last night, my kids finally convinced my wife and I to drag out the Christmas tree and begin decorating.  As the night wore on, one by one, they faded, leaving my wife to finish the job (I’m not much help placing ornaments, I fear).

Before I turned in for the night, for a few moments,  I sat in our living room, illuminated only by the lights from the tree, and gave thanks.  And not because tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  No, what spurred this thanksgiving session on was my son.  He would grab ornaments and show them to me, asking me who they were (or in his words “who’s this fella dad?”).  My girls did the same, although to a lesser extent.

The end result was a trip down memory lane, over the past 17 years of my marriage to my wonderful wife, and back into the foggy days before we met, all the way to my childhood.  You see, the amazing thing is for me to look back over my life and see just how God blessed me, even when I didn’t know Him.

Sitting there in the almost-dark, with my kids asleep upstairs and my wife tidying things up before bed, it hit me just how good He has been to me, and in that moment of quiet, a wave of gratitude for all God has done swept over, and all I could say was “thank You.”

We don’t need a special day to say thanks.  We don’t need a turkey, or a football game, or cranberry sauce (that no one eats).  No, we just need to take the time to stop, reflect, and say thanks. Cause seriously, if you have the ability to be reading this post, you have MUCH to be thankful for.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1)