I Could Give Thanks

I could give thanks this Thanksgiving Day for the many blessings God has given to me.

I could give thanks for the money in the bank, which never seems to run out when I need it --- especially when it is needed to help others.  I could give thanks for the house I own, the new car I drive (even the rental one given me here in Phoenix was a brand new one!), for the availability of almost anything I want, and even the ready availability of those things I don’t want, but God knows I should have.  It is all just there.  I could and should give thanks for all these many financial blessings, and I will.

I could give thanks for family (which I am visiting here in Arizona) and for the many friends I left back in Michigan.  My nieces are excellent parents to their children, role models for parents they meet, and faithful to the God of their own youth; they are able to see beyond the things of this world.  My many friends are a great blessing from God: there the few who REALLY know me (and, amazingly, still choose to be my friends!), and then there are those who are friends in my undertakings --- friends at work, at charities and charitable work, friends at church and in prayer, and friends in need who He has put into my life, entrusting their care to me.  All these people are good friends, and wonderful blessings.  I could and should give thanks for all these many friends, and I will.  But …

I see all these things; I see all these people He has brought into my life, but I know there are others I don’t see, and yet I know they are there.  God, in His great mercy, has made me aware of these others:  These are people who don’t beg; don’t seek advantage; don’t strive to be seen.  All I have, all my many great blessings, all things and people that God has given to me, --- even the beauty of this morning’s sunrise --- all these blessings are like the 99 sheep of the flock.  He has given me all these blessings to love and to care for, but they are His for the taking, for they are His.  All these blessings I take pride in, yet they are not mine.  But I WILL care for them, and give thanks for them, yet --- He has given me one further blessing, for which I will also give thanks:  It is like the one missing from the flock.  He has made me aware that despite all the blessings He has given me, there is something missing in my life.

Was it that man I saw struggling to stay awake at the casino yesterday, addicted to whatever?  Was it the person sitting alone in the corner of the church, long after mass had ended?  Was it the man dressed in rags, nursing a coffee at McDonald’s?  Or, was it someone who is sitting home alone, so different from me: not being aware of any financial benefits, aware of any friends, and having nothing for which they feel thankful?  Or is it a priest I know of, who will spend Thanksgiving alone in prayer, thankful for the blessing of knowing God?  Are any of these the lost sheep God has made me aware of, put a yearning in my heart to search for?  I don’t know, but I will search for and help the lost He puts in my path, in the ways in which He touches my heart to aid them.  I will search for those whom I know He, in love, searches for.  I know the path won’t be easy, and it will often seem dark, but I also know I will not be alone in my search for the lost one, and He will guide me.

And for all these things, these people, these blessings --- and blessings to be --- I will give special thanks this Thanksgiving Day.  I so love and am thankful for the 99 blessings He has entrusted to me, yet I pray they will be understanding and forgiving of me when I feel compelled to leave them and search for the one, the one who is lost and needs love.  And if I can find him, then my thanks will be full.