Friday, November 23, 2012

Giving Thanks

Casey and Kathy getting ready for
Thanksgiving....how sweet it is!!

A favorite saying in our family is "Better late than never!", which most certainly applies to today when I say to all of you, "Happy Thanksgiving!".  Had to say that, just so you don't read this with your forehead crinkled thinking we're nuts over here :)  I am attaching a picture of the three of us girls, after we all indulged in just a little too much Thanksgivingness :)  Notice how I (Casey) strategically positioned myself behind my mom...LOL. And as we all recover from too much turkey, stuffing, gravy, yummy oohey goohey sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce, I can't help but thinking about all of you who may be having a little trouble getting in the 'thankful' mood today.  Those who, like good family friends of ours, may be celebrating Thanksgiving in a hospital room--not sure of what the future holds.  Or maybe those whose sons, daughters, or spouses are deployed.  Those who have recently been given devastating test results, or those who just lost a loved one.  Those who find themselves sitting at a table with an empty chair where a loved one once sat.  We've been there.  Those Thanksgivings are hard.  Very hard.  Hard to slap a smile on your face pretending like nothing's wrong...pretending like you are feeling thankful...when to be quite honest, you're just not.   And that's okay.  In times of trouble, when you don't know what the future holds, just remember who holds the future.  When I was little and my mother was going through all of her treatments, I used to picture in my head the Allstate hands (except in my head they were God's hands), and my family snuggled right in the middle...resting comfortably in the palms of our Savior.  You are safe.  You are loved. 

With that  said, I would like to share with you the Unity daily devotion for yesterday:

"As long as I have breath, I have life.  As long as I have life, I am grateful.  I draw in deep, calming breaths that spread through my body, enlivening my senses.  I breathe in gratitude for all I see, hear, taste, smell and touch.  I am grateful for my loved ones, my home and for the myriad of blessings in my life.   With my next breath, I dive deeper into gratefulness, breathing in gratitude for my oneness in God--whole, beautiful and irrepressible.  With an energizing, amplifying breath, I breathe out any disquiet in my soul.  Poised in an elevated awareness of gratitude, I give thanks for all experiences.

"I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart."
                                                                                        ~Psalm 86:12

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving,
Casey, Kathy, and Kelly

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