Thanksgiving

I am so very thankful for so very much!! My son Caleb is soon to complete his tour in Iraq and will be flying home. One more tour of duty completed, home safe and sound. THIS fact is so overwhelming for me.I've said it before, but what overwhelms me is gratitude and a sense of unworthiness as the mom and wife of soldiers, that we have come thorugh as many tours of duty as we have: the way we have. Our friend Daphne and her sons have a new house to be thankful for this season, but her husband, Scott, did not help her plan this house. He will never live there. We celebrated Scott's life and observed his funeral last June...........a tour in Afghanistan, a road side bomb.
Life is so uncertain, its not promised to anyone, it is precious, it is fragile and it is all around me. We will speak by phone to Joshua and family in Maryland, he is also safely back from Iraq within the last two months, speak to daughter Kari, recently reunited with husband after some troubles, Esther isn't with us today; she's at fiance's family gathering with Casey:twe will talk , but Gideon and friends will be with us, Hannah and Jon and NEW LIFE Charlie, now 2 months old will be here, Malachi is home, and next year, Lord willing, Sopheak will be here as the newest Smith: his wife and our daughter-in-law. Jael will be bubbling all over the house in her ever-effervescent fashion. Isaac, Noah and Isaiah will be busy playing basketball in the front or football in the back, Leah is quieter, most of the time, but her presence is always so mcuh fun. Her sense of humor and style of reacting to thngs is just pure joy! Rachel and Naomi will be busily bopping around and wnating to help. Naomi will be trying to work a good trail ride in to the day since its not raining. If she can be riding she WILL be riding. LIFE ............. LIFE.....so precious!
A warm house in which to be together. Something we do not take for granted. 17 years ago we lost our house and all its contents to a fire a week before Thanksgiving. It was the strangest feeling I had when we were driving to our dear friends Kevin and Jenny's house to accept their kind invitation for us to stay with them while we found a rental house. I looked out the back window of our vehicle at the town we were leaving, our very few ( mostly donated) possessions with us and the thought hit me: "we are homeless". We stayed with our gracious friends for about two weeks, the one and only Thanksgiving Dinner I didn't help prepare was that year. We went to a local hotel serving a buffet and had a banquet room all to ourselves (we had 5 of our kiddos with us, they had 3) I am so thankful for our friends ( and we are STILL close friends!!) and how they ministered to us at that time. NOT many people would be so willing to open their whole lives that way. We drove 40 + miles to stay with them............there was "no room" at any "local inn". Friends in this life are precious and of great value!
ITs easy to take things and sections of life for granted...too easy. Having a good number of our family roots now firmly planted in extremely impoverished nations, we dont'fall prey to that very often, Yet we do, and that makes for a time of out and out BLESSING COUNTING. Today as we wish that our sweet Daniel were home with us, and Junior and Diamoh as well, we are thankful that they are being cared for, they have food to eat, thankful that we can pray for them, help in small ways to add to their care from far away, thankful that God put them on our hearts and into our family. SO many children around the world, and here in the USA, do not have anyone.
As we count our blessings today it will be as we pray for ways to live that Thanks to God out in real ways to others.
My friend Kim posted a beautiful prayer on her blog this morning. When I read it , all I could say was "amen" Pray it with us?

Dear Lord,
Today, we take time out to give you thanks for all the tremendous blessings we enjoy every day. Even in the midst of our difficult circumstances and the trials we face, we recognize that we have been the recipients of your mercy and grace. We thank you that no matter what we are going through, we have assurance that your love endures forever! We thank you that because of your love, you have provided us with salvation and have rescued us from death, hell, and the grave. We thank you that we have a heavenly eternity to look forward to. And even while we live here on this earth, we are the recipients of your enduring love. We thank you for your forgiveness, your provision, your guidance, and your grace to help us navigate our way through each day. We thank you that you will never forget or forsake us. We thank you that even in the darkest night, you shine your light to show us the way. Not only today, but each and every day of our lives, we thank you that we can truly know that your love for us endures forever.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen