Happy Thanksgiving

Thursday 11/26/2015 4:55 AM

I saw a meteor streaking across the sky on two different occasions within the last few days, once as I ran early in the morning and the other at dusk, as I was riding my motorcycle home from school. Both were brilliant streaks of light trailing sparks like fireworks. They lasted only a second or two, and then were gone.

Tomorrow I will celebrate my sixtieth birthday. I can’t believe it. As I reflect, my life seems to have lasted about as long as the meteors I saw, just a quick flash of light. But what a wonderful life it has been.

Earlier this week a Facebook friend posted a picture in which she and her husband were sharing a passionate kiss, silhouetted against a bright, foggy background. I immediately thought of my love for Jaci and Proverbs 5:18-19 leaped into my head. “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer – may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.” The Lord has blessed me beyond measure with the gift of her love. I am thankful for her and I am definitely inebriated by her love.

The Lord has also blessed us with three great kids who have married three wonderful spouses. Psalm 127:3-5 comes to mind, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” For whatever reason the Lord gave children to a couple of people who had no experience in raising children and then gave us the grace to raise them. The love we share is a great encouragement to me, and something for which I am grateful.

God’s faithfulness to me has been extended even further through my seven, going on eight, grandchildren. They are a source of great joy and exhibit boundless energy and enthusiasm. Psalm 71:17-18 is my hope and prayer. “Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”

These were the thoughts coursing through my head as I ran early this Thanksgiving morning. When I got home I sat down for my time of meditation and reflection. I read the opening affirmation for the week, based on Psalm 2:12b. “All who take refuge in the Lord are truly happy!” There it was. Simply stated. It is not the circumstances of my life but, rather, my relationship with God that brings encouragement, hope, and, ultimately, happiness.

Stephen Doughty and Marjorie Thompson give sound advice in their book, The Way of Discernment. “We need to open our eyes and ears. In a culture so fixed on the superficial, the negative, the sensational, and the tawdry, we need to be a people who look for the movements of God’s grace and stand ready to follow where those movements lead.” I pray that as I grow older and my senses fade I will still be able to sense the grace of God raining on the world he loves and to follow where he leads. If I am able to do so, my life will be a happy thanksgiving, come what may.