Extraordinary

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, 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 49 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 3000-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.

For many years I worked at an office filled with people who are true heroes. I constantly watched the people I worked with show up early, stay late, and work as if they owned the business themselves. They were determined to provide a better life for their families, and they didn’t compromise their integrity to do it. I was honored to be on their team and thankful for their inspiration…and I found it extraordinary.

Still to this 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 peek 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 now seven grandchildren) 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 dreamed a lot when I was young). But she deserves a much better-looking man than me and 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) extremely extraordinary.

In addition, 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 more than just extraordinary.

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

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

                                                                                       ~ Meister Eckhart