The Pathway Home...

This Texas Thanksgiving Day was beautiful; clear skies and warm breezes teased us with memories of the summer past and colder days to come.

....except that my Aunt fell and broke her hip this morning. With ~30 people gathering from all corners of the country to reconnect, one of the cornerstones of the family spent the first day of what will likely be a long journey in the hospital. But lest we forget our priorites, Aunt Ruth, in her pain an agony, brought us all back to reality when she asked from her hospital bed, "what time is the Cowboy game? ...and be sure the TV is turned to that station before you leave!!!"

That said, the rest of us proceeded to feast on food, football and semi-true stories that had gone untold over the years. As with many families, we have allowed time and miles to separate us; but sharing stories, looking at old pictures and watching the youngest of the family embrace life anew reminded me of days long past when we were the youngest...listening to tales told around the Thanksgiving table by our forefathers. I can only pray that the next generation can look back as fondly as I do with love and compassion in their heart for the family they are a part of.

Nothing in life is permanent, and we remember on this day of Thanksgiving as we transition from one generation to another. Every door is open for new opportunity, yet we should hold our past close in our hearts...for it is in the traditions passed down through the generations that the heart and soul of a family lives on.

I saw hope on this day that the stories that I heard around those Thanksgiving tables as a child will be passed on to future generations...and that warms my heart and gives me hope for the future.

Gratitude …

goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

~Henri J. M. Nouwen