For me, Thanksgiving has always been a time about food,
getting together with loved ones, more food, Black Friday Shopping, food,
football and relaxing. This year,
a lot was put into perspective for me.
The night before Thanksgiving, my father suffered a massive heart
attack. A generally very healthy
guy, this came as a complete shock.
he was playing basketball with my brothers and started feeling chest
pains that just kept getting worse.
living in the remote part of Oregon that my family lives in, my brothers rushed him to the hospital,
but as soon as he got there and they realized how severe it was, they sent him
to a hospital more than an hour away that was better able to help.
he had to have an emergency quadruple bypass in the middle
of the night. I was checking my
phone every 20 minutes to check for updates from my sister. I felt very helpless, being so far
away.
through the grace of our father in heaven, modern medicine,
and talented doctors, the surgery went very very well. he’s still in the middle of his
recovery, but he’s finally home and getting used to the idea that he has to
take it easy.
this experience has reminded me how truly fragile life is,
and how we ought to never take our loved ones for granted. i am so grateful for my parents who
have taught me about god and faith and have allowed me to be a part of an
eternal family. I am also so
grateful that my father in heaven has allowed me to share more of this life
with them.
seth and I hosted thanksgiving at our house this year – with
several of his family members coming to our house for the week. it was wonderful to see so many of the
people we love and share the spirit of thanksgiving with them.
we truly have been so blessed and have so much to be
thankful for. I feel like the Lord
has been good to us in ways I could never deserve, so this year, I am grateful
for a loving father in heaven who is willing to bless me and my family despite
all of my shortcomings and faults.
here’s to hoping Christmas only has the joy – and none of
the worry – that came with thanksgiving J
