Thanksgiving

I absolutely love Thanksgiving day!  It is my favorite holiday of the year and this year is no exception.  Despite being on my scooter, with the help of my wonderful family I intend to put on a feast that will long be remembered.  I decided to list on my blog just a few of the many things that I am especially thankful for this year.

I am incredibly grateful for the many who read this blog and intercede before God's throne for me.  Though I have not met many of you, you have become precious to me.  I am thankful for the prayers I know you will be sending up as I have my surgery in Houston on December 9th.

I am so grateful to God  for the way He has proved in my life His promises to care for the fatherless  and widow.

I am thankful beyond measure for the wonderful family God has blessed me with:  for my eldest, Jesse, who loves and gives without question;  for Jason, who has a great heart of compassion and has held the family and house together for many years;   for Heather who has given of her love unconditionally since she has been part of our family;  for Christopher, who fills my life with laughter and joy and has given up of himself to look after the day-by-day needs of our household; for Bethany who has blessed our home with  her creativity and love;  for David who, with a great heart for God, is always ready to remind me of Whose hands I rest in;  for Rachel, who despite the trials in her young life, has grown into a beautiful, godly young lady expressing much of herself in her art;  for Ryan, a godly young man, who has blessed me by treasuring my daughter! I have five children and two daughters-in-law who are each unique in their personalities, but alike in their loving hearts, compassion and especially their love for the Lord.

I am thankful for a godly mother who has been a wonderful example to me, as well as a mentor and teacher  to many.  She is a wonderful blessing in our home.

I am so grateful that God has allowed me to live long enough to be a grandmother to Tegan and to the little one Heather carries.  I am grateful for the joy grandchildren have brought into my life.

I am grateful for my sister, brothers, their spouses, other family members and dear friends who have faithfully stood beside me on my journey with cancer, supporting me every step of the way.

I am thankful for my church family who have encouraged and supported me with prayers, notes, hugs, meals, financially and in so many other ways.  For a pastor and leaders of the church who have kept track of my needs to a young girl who gives me a hug most every Sunday!

As we feast, I am thankful that we are able to have such an outlay of food and that God has seen to our every need when so many go hungry.

I am thankful for coworkers who became my friends and supported me while at work and have kept up their friendship and love beyond the workplace.

Doctors, nurses and office staff have become such an integral part of my life the last few years, and I am grateful for the way they have looked after my medical needs.  I am particularly grateful for the ones here locally who have cared for me as a friend. 

I am grateful that God has blessed me with more time on this earth, grateful ahead of the fact for the way He intends to use the surgery in my life and that the results are in the Great Physician's hands!

I am surrounded by the wonderful beauty of God's creation, which reminds me of His care and power every day.  I am grateful for the ever changing sunsets, the multi-colored leaves, the roses in my front yard and the crickets that serenade me every day.  I could not begin to list the wonderful things I see and hear that so often go unnoticed.

I am so thankful that God has sustained me, and all of mine all these years, for without His work on holding our beings together, we would not have lived.

I am grateful beyond measure for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

I am grateful for the work of His Holy Spirit in my life, and His constant intercession for me.

 I am so thankful that even through the trials in this life, I can rest secure that I have a heavenly Father who is in control and who loves me with a love beyond all understanding.  I am so thankful for the steadfast mercy He has shown me and the peace that He has given me.

I am thankful that walking down this weary, painful path of cancer, that I am not alone.

Lastly, I am so thankful that, at the time of God's perfect choosing, I will leave this world and pass into my glorious home in Heaven where there will be no more pain, tears or suffering!

The poem below is meaningful to me as a "stitchery" person.  I intend to take it with me to the hospital when I have surgery to remind me of Who is in control.

Just A Weaver

by Benjamine Malachi Franklin

My life is but a weaving,

between my God and me,

I do not choose the colors,

He worketh steadily.

Ofttimes he weaveth sorrow,

and I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper,

and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent,

and the shuttles cease to fly,

Will God unroll the canvas,

and explain the reasons why

The dark threads are as needful

in the skillful weaver's hand

As threads of gold and silver

in the pattern He has planned.