Being Thankful
Being Thankful
by Patricia A. Saunders
Thanksgiving is around the corner in a couple of weeks
Its more than sitting around the table eating your favorite sweet potato pies, turkey and ham
Growing up I remember my Mother staying up late making sure all of our favorite dishes were done to perfection
She would get dressed up on Thanksgiving and my Father dress slacks and shirt and we would be so excited.
When it was time to do the blessing I always hated it because my Mother took so long. I was starving and ready to dive into the candied yams, greens and ham.
So now as an adult, having lost both parents the holidays bring up so many emotions.
I am thankful to see another year
I am thankful for having a roof over my head because there was a time I was on the brink of being homeless
I am thankful for food in my refrigerator because there was a time that I could open it and hear a echo
I am thankful for each one of my siblings those gone and the ones still here because it takes a village to raise a child
I am thankful for my job that I wasn't looking for and glad I answered my company phone that day
I am thankful for my friends who have let me cry, laugh, and share a good glass of wine with
As I have gotten older I realize why my Mother's prayers were so long. She was thankful for each child to be around the table, not dead, and not in jail. She was thankful for our health and she was thankful that through it all she had made it.
I can hear her so passionate about thanking the Lord for another year. I can feel her squeezing my hand as the anointing came over her and I understand now why.
Not everyday was perfect but she didn't complain. She was living in her house that she owned that was across the street from the house she cleaned as a maid.
Before there a movie called "The Help" she lived it and by the grace of God the situation turned around and there she was waving good morning to them. I look to hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord.
Being thankful is more than the dinner.Its more than football. It's more than running to the mall.
Being thankful is giving thanks for everything. We really should give thanks daily. There was someone who didn't wake up this morning.
Let me fall down on my knees because I am truly being thankful.
Patricia A. Saunders is Author of Loving Me and Through the Fire
www.patriciaasaunders.com
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