Thank YOU...

I am, like so many others in November, participating in the facebook days of thankfulness.  Every day I post something for which I'm thankful.  Thus far I have posted that I am thankful for sunny days (particularly in November), for my husband who brings me such laughter and joy, for the encouragement of a particular group of friends, for "the Big Story, to which we attach our little story," for the "daughter" that came unexpectedly into our lives nine years ago, for the potential beauty of words, and (today) for the good news that the experimental surgery that my dad just had seems to have finally rid him of cancer.

There are many more days in November, and many more things to be thankful for... the influence of wonderful parents, the many good friends I've had over the past number of years, the various places and ways I've been able to serve in ministry, the beauty of nature that surrounds us, the "everyday" opportunities as well as the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunities.  I could go on... and over the next few weeks, I will.

Being thankful is a wonderful practice.  It makes you open your eyes to what you have, rather than what you don't.  It stirs gratefulness, rather than whining; a spirit of generosity, rather than grasping.  I love that so many people are posting their "thanks."

But there's something in a "thankful" statement that often gets overlooked.  There's the underlying understanding in saying "thanks" that you are "thanking" something or someone.

Each time I post a "thankful" statement, there is a "thank YOU" in that statement.  The YOU?  God.

He is the creator of sunshine as well as rain.  He brought my husband into my life and brought us together (and that is a long story for another day!).  He brought our daughter to us.  He connects me to friends, gave me the Big Story, and, yes, guided the hands of the surgeons and gave them the brains to come up with this new procedure.

Do I also thank my husband, my daughter, my friends, my family, the surgeons... for their roles in all of this?  Absolutely!  But my first thank YOU goes to God, who weaves our lives together in ways of beauty beyond what I can understand.

So thank YOU Lord, for all that you give.