Bountifully Blessed

Today is a day set aside by our nation to give thanks and we have so much for which to give thanks.

As I write this I can see the glow of Christmas lights from our tree in the corner.  The smell of the turkey roasting in the oven fills the air.  Everywhere I look, from the beagle sleeping peacefully at my feet, to the roof over my head speaks of bountiful blessings.

Sometimes to realize how very blessed we are we have to look somewhere else.  I read today that in 2011, 44% of Africans lived on $1.25 or less a day.  I confess I have paid more than that for a cup of coffee before.  That's  only $456.25 a year.  Sometimes we forget just how much we have to be thankful for.

I had a stark reminder at 1a.m.  I was sleeping soundly and blissfully, until a realization woke me, bolted me upright and shot me out of bed like a bullet out of a gun.

I have always cooked my turkeys as my mother did, and I have never had a bad turkey. I cook my turkey long, slow and low, through the night.  In the morning, the thermometer wedged in his thigh shows he has reached a temperature safe to eat and he is a beautiful golden brown.  The house is full of a glorious Thanksgiving aroma and the oven is free for the dressing and Spinach Madelaine which has to be cooked later.  Only last night I forgot to put the turkey in the oven before I went to bed.  At 1a.m. something, I choose to believe it was the Lord, woke me up with the remembrance the turkey was still sleeping in the refrigerator.

Today I will be thankful for many things. . .my sweet best friend and husband, my wonderful children, my beautiful grandchildren, our special friends joining us around our table today and all our bountiful blessings.  But I will also be thankful for that "still, small voice" that whispered at me in my sleep to wake me up and put the turkey in the oven.

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, 

This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." 

Isaiah 30:21