Let Us Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is in the air; the preparations have begun, the food has started to accumulate and we (hopefully) have turned our thoughts to what we are really thankful for. I could make a long list of little things that I am truly thankful fur, such as flannel sheets, yellow leaves on the hickory tree and carrots pulled right from the garden, but I'm going to go for my top five, because the list could get unreasonably long, and everyone would fall asleep reading.

1. God. I could leave it right there, but I don't feel I would do Him justice if I did. I am thankful to God for His protection and comfort in my life, providing me with sustenance, family, health and a place to call home. I have felt, since I was a small child, that He holds me in the hollow of his hand, protecting me and guiding me if only I have the sense to pay attention.
2. Family. I am thankful for my husband of twenty-one years, our two girls, our parents and our siblings. I love them all very much and  they have made me who I am (for better or for worse!). I am thankful for the foster children who have shared our home and lives over the years. I am very thankful for our Church family; we are far away from our biological families and they fill that gap for us over and over. We have several "moms" and "dads" there.
3. Friends. Many or our friends are from Church, but we have others from different areas of our lives. We have friends that we have camped with and had Thanksgiving with since 1999, watching our kids grow up and change over the years. We have friends who have provided respite care when we have had a special needs foster child. We have friends who we have shared joys and sorrows, triumph and disappointment, good times and bad. We have friends. Plural. What a joy.
4. The Farm in the City. Christened thus by Dave's Dad when he first visited a decade ago, we are finally trying to fulfill that vision. I covet the days when my feet don't stray from the property and look forward to spending more and more time here. A place to call home, what a blessing.
5. Food. I love food. I am so thankful that we have plenty and I know there are others who don't and who are working just as hard as we are to make ends meet. Let me remember to share the bounty of the Farm with those who don't have opportunity to grow their own.

So there it is, the Farm in the City top five things to be thankful for . Of course there is always the wind in the trees, the clothes drying on the line, the cat sunning herself, the trains passing behind our property, the dog jumping through the kudzu, the stars in the sky......amen and amen.