I truly do feel thankful today.
I'm thankful to be alive. There's so much in my life that brings me joy. i really don't deserve that.
I love my wife Erinn so much. She truly makes me happy. I don't really deserve her.
I love my 6 year old daughter. She lost her first top front tooth yesterday and her smile today brings me so much joy that my heart feels like it will burst. I don't really deserve her.
I love my home. I've been away so much over the past 2 months that I can't even begin to articulate what being home means to me. Most of those trips have been to see and explore homelessness and poverty in other Canadian cities. I can't believe how deplorable the conditions are in the inner city of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and St. John's. On most days when I think about that I feel down, angry and confused. Today however I find myself simply thankful and grateful for the life i have. I don't really deserve it.
I love sunny fall days like today with the sun shining and the leaves falling. days like today are so beautiful and peaceful. I don't really deserve this.
I love my job. I get to work alongside some of the most compassionate and wonderful people anywhere every day. I just had a staff retreat with them and had an amazing time. I didn't really deserve that.
I also get to befriend folks who live on the streets who have taught m so much about life, love, community, and God. They are my friends. I really don't deserve them.
I love music and I love the band that I'm in. I just bought my very first euphonium and I get to play music with 3 guys that I really like a lot every week. I don't deserve that gift.
I love my church. I really love the small group that I meet with every Sunday morning before the church service starts. I love the people that go to my church. I love that 60 or 70 kids go to this church. I love the quirky nature of the services. I love the priest there. I love that some of my best friends in the whole wide world go there. I love that I can walk there. I love it. I don't deserve that gift.
I love God. I believe that God loves me. I love that God has extended so much grace to me despite all of my doubts, faults, screwups, and humanness. I love living in the hope that while things are really not even close to being perfect in the world today, that we have been promised that at the end of it all everything will be made right. I love knowing that there will be no more pain, sickness, confusion, addiction, homelessness, violence, relationship breakdowns, or war. 
I really don't deserve that.

Happy Thanksgiving

1 comments so far...

Re: Fall Reflections (Part 4 of 4) Thanks Dion your thankfulness gives hope and reminds me of all the good in my life. You sure philosophy wasn't your major? By Kathy on   11/30/2009 2:29 PM

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