Boy this has been some year!  However, despite the poor economic forecasts, the highest unemployment since the great depression and world crises’ at large, I am still looking forward to Thanksgiving. 

I have always appreciated Thanksgiving, as it stands alone in its virtues.  Maybe it’s in the preparation process.  After all, I plan events for a living.  Or maybe it’s filling my home with all the smells that evoke comfort, or perhaps it’s the family and friends who gather and share in the abundance.  For me, there is a sense of peace that comes from knowing that around this country, gathered at all sorts of tables of every size and shape are people sharing whatever they have with one another.  That is a powerful thought, as each of us has reason to be thankful, even though it sometimes appears that the grass is greener in someone else’s pasture. 

There are many other benchmarks for the approaching holiday season like “Black Friday,” the busiest shopping day of the year and then  “Cyber Monday,” when e-shoppers get down to business.  Yes, the days ahead will be frantic with shopping, decorating, wrapping and mailing, all the commercial things that make the “season”.  Still, it’s Thanksgiving that speaks to me.  It’s a day to take the time to reflect on our lives and give gratitude to God for who we have become, all we have been given and for what we can share with others. 

I hope that the spirit of Thanksgiving touches your life and that you take a moment to count your many blessings and be thankful.