Choosing Gratitude

I was so motivated to finish this week strong, but it didn't exactly go the way I planned.

The week of Thanksgiving is one of my favorite weeks of the year. In anticipation I had scheduled in advance to take the entire week of Thanksgiving off from school.  In all honesty, I am need of a break. 

Thanksgiving week is fun for me because I can organize with an end in mind. It's when I get my menu all put together, and my favorite holiday recipes pulled out. 

It's when I anticipate the setting of my Thanksgiving table and where I will set things.  It's when I dust the full service china settings and remember how much I love my dishes.

It's when we decide what movie we will watch on Thanksgiving night. 

It's when I get to anticipate a full day with the family. 

Even when it's just the four of us, as it would have been this year, I bake and cook and celebrate as if I am having the dinner party of all dinner parties.

I enjoy Thanksgiving. 

So, when The Mister came home and told me that he wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving because he had been pulled for a week of Administrative Duty, you could say I was deflated. 

I went from Martha Stewart to Oscar the Grouch in 2 seconds flat.

At first I was understanding. Then I was angry. Now, I'm just disappointed.

There have been a number of things happening around me that remind me to be grateful.

The family of a friend of mine buried a loved one yesterday. Next Thursday they will sit around a table and give thanks with one forever-empty chair. 

Another friend of ours lost his job. He had no idea it was coming. He just walked into work, was told to pack up his desk, and was escorted out, along with several co-workers.  They will eat turkey with their family and give thanks without knowing what their future holds.

I have friends with spouses fighting in a war.  Thousands of miles from home, they haven't seen their loved ones for over six months. They will give thanks that their husbands (and wives) are fighting for freedom, even though that means missing family milestones and many holidays.

I'm trying to keep things in perspective. Trying to remember that life goes on...even when I don't get my way! The flesh cries out to be heard. To be soothed. To be answered.

Deep in my heart, in that place that never speaks out loud, it cries "This isn't fair!"

But the rational part of my grumpy old self is remembering to choose gratitude.

God has blessed me with a tender-hearted and loving man; two healthy and sweet kids; we have family and friends who love us and care for us. We have a warm home and food to eat. We are, in comparison to many places outside of America, rich and spoiled people. How could I possibly forget to be grateful?

So, there won't be a Thanksgiving event here at the La Vida household this year.  It may be lasagna and salad on Sunday. But I'll remember to give thanks all the same.

Isaiah 51:3 - 

Joy and gladness will be found in her, 

Thanksgiving and the sound of singing.