Extraordinarily Thankful

Earlier this week I was with a couple of buddies when one of them said something interesting. He said, “Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because we get to be with people we love, hang out and eat good food, and watch football and we don’t gotta screw around buying stupid presents.” Okay, so his grammar wasn’t perfect, but he made a good point. The things we are most thankful for don’t come wrapped with a bow...and I find that kind of extraordinary.

 

For almost 40 years now I have gotten up early every day and jumped into a truck. I head out onto a freeway loaded with thousands of other 3,000 pound missiles driving 70+ miles per hour to get who knows where. I’ve seen some bad accidents and I’ve had a few mishaps (one that was life changing) but I have always made it home safe and sound. For that I am thankful… and I find it extraordinary.

 

During the week I end up at an office filled with people who are true heroes. I constantly watch the people I work with show up early, stay late and work as if they owned the business themselves. They are determined to provide a better life for their families and they don’t compromise their integrity to do it. I am honored to be on their team and thankful for their inspiration…and I find it extraordinary.

 

At the end of the day I come home to my own loving family. For years I was able to tuck my four children into bed, often carrying the youngest on my shoulders. Most nights I would say their prayers with them and then peak into their rooms after they fell asleep. Their faces always looked so precious and peaceful as I pulled their covers up and remembered how blessed I am to be called “Dad”. How a clumsy, forgetful, chump like me could ever be blessed with four such awesome children (and six grandchildren now) I don’t know, but I do know one thing, I am very thankful…and I find it extraordinary.

 

Even more surprising is how each and every night I get to end up in the arms of the most beautiful and loving wife a man could ever want. She is everything I ever dreamed of (and I dreamt a lot when I was young) and she deserves a much better looking man than me. But yet she tells me I am her prince and her warrior, and she makes me believe it. She makes me want to be the best I can be and for that I am very thankful…and I find it (and her) extraordinary.

 

For a few minutes each day I get to sit down with a really good book. It’s a book that was created by the One who created me and blessed me with my life on this earth. I am honored to hold that book in my hands so I try hard to focus on the words, soak in their meaning and learn how to live in a way that honors Him. To have a Creator who will patiently await my personal development is something I am definitely thankful for…and I find it extremely extraordinary.

 

Tomorrow morning I will do it again. I will get into the same truck, go to the same office, work with the same people, call on the same customers, read the same Bible and crawl into bed with the same woman. I couldn’t be more thankful for all of it and I don’t need a bow on any of it! Extraordinary!

Happy Thanksgiving!

If the only prayer you ever said in your whole
life was, "thank you," that would suffice.
~ Meister Eckhart