Thanks Giving
Depends on who is giving thanks.
When you think of what to be thankful for, I think it’s fair to say that it depends how many years you’ve lived and what you’ve not only faced, but what you have had to overcome to truly understand gratitude, being thankful by giving thanks.
My first year in school was first grade and I recall being thankful for my mom to have come by almost to the end of my first school day to give me a red and white striped pencil with a doll’s head on top as I recall nervously trying to finish strong for day one.
It was around the age of ten when I was grateful to have gained my Papa’s trust where I recall telling on myself when I did wrong. For him to just lay on the couch while calmly telling me to “not do it again” gave me this peace within me to know my Papa would not have to worry about me doing and being good.
I was thankful to have had a chance to be chosen as speaker of my high school graduation on behalf of staff members knowing that I was not actually academically finishing strong. Being able to sit on stage to face my fellow graduating classmates meant more to me than all those eyes will ever know.
I was thankful to have our first home where I could finally play out the part of being a mother and wife, setting rules and expectations for myself on how to create stability, security, and strength for my family, encompassed with love and honor I set at an unreachable bar.
When life is good, there is a lot of blessings showered upon the family. All is in order. As the years go on, witnessing the children thrive brings a calming peace to the worried soul. While we may forget to stop and smell the flowers more often than one should, the focus pays off, seeing those you love push themselves to great heights.
My husband and I could see the harvest of what we had sowed. There was much to be thankful for.
Just like any harvest, there arrive the unanticipated storms or the calamity of each might that come your way. You hold your ground. You stand firm. You do not falter at the wind, the rain, or any fire that might arise from lightning strikes or fallen wires. You busily try to build levees around you, preventing any flood to sweep away anything in your possession. And as you hear the roaring thunder, you keep on staying steady. All are still together, nothing has fallen apart or has drifted far from you. And then, somehow, the lightning finds you amidst the storm and hits you directly out of nowhere.
While the thunder roared, the lightning silently struck, knocking you down. There you are, quietly falling to your knees. Even if no one was around, you know that you have fallen. Just for a moment, you find your hands on the ground, trying to hold your face up from meeting dust and dirt as the fall momentarily takes your breath and strength away. Refusing defeat, you quickly come to your senses. There is no time or mercy upon you. You stand back up, place both feet back on the ground, and you keep on. The lightning may have taken you down for a single moment, but you dare not bow down to the afflictions. You rise and push through the storm knowing that you will outlast it. To outlast it is not a choice, it is a must.
Like any storm, faith held you in, being reminded that all will subside and the sun would shine again. And so, finally, it does. You breathe. The storm subsides. You breathe quietly some more.
Ever know what to be thankful for? Ask those that almost lost their lives, their homes, or their families, or sadly, if they lost any of such, ask those who almost lost their spirit or soul to the darkness the storms brought in.
Having gone through some storms, I sing one song that never fails to make me smile,
“I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way…” sung by Johnny Nash.
One who has never gone through a storm or run into any obstacles will not be able to relate to this song the same way with one who very much understands not just a storm, but those that try to sweep you up and away or any obstacles that have tried to not just make you stumble, but maim you in the process.
I do not know when a storm shall arrive nor how big it shall be if and when it comes. I embrace the understanding that the world coexists with the good and not so good days. I also believe to great degree that if I had not gone through any storms or had not ever stumbled, I wouldn’t be able to take in the air, the sun, the stars, and even the moon gratefully the same way. With every summer comes the fall. And yet, with every frigidity of winter, forward, awaits the blooms of spring.
There is something about clear skies when you’ve weathered a storm. There is this internal peace. There is this inexplicable joy. There is this unspeakable victory.
Giving thanks is in the soul of the beholder.
A person giving thanks who has struggled will be different than one who must dig deep to be thankful for something who is struggling right now.
A person who has welcomed a new joy in their life giving thanks will be different from one who must pause from the agony of having lost a loved one they weren’t ready to yet let go.
A person who celebrates a promotion or change in one’s career for the upcoming year giving thanks will be different from one who must try and figure out how to make ends meet for the family as the year comes to a close and a new year creeps in.
A person who is giving thanks at a table for the first time inside their brand new home or location will be different from the one who must leave everything behind to relocate to perhaps an unknown or unwanted place.
A person who has gained abundance giving thanks this year will be different from the one who is holding on to faith that they haven’t lost it all.
A person who holds hands with a loved one while giving thanks will be different from the one who knows in their heart that perhaps this may be the last time to hold hands once and for all.
Giving thanks. Sometimes it is easy. Sometimes, we must dig deep as the heart, the soul, the mind, the body, and the spirit try to find strength, if not, joy and peace, to be thankful for something.
I give thanks for such strength with a prayer that the storms, especially those ones that feel or last forty days and forty nights, will cease. And no matter how long it may take for the flood to subside, no matter how many or how much are lost along the way, landing will be found again. Your feet will be posted back on ground. Peace, joy, and laughter awaits. That rainbow? Clear blue sky? Directly ahead. You’ll see. Just keep going.
God bless us all.
