Day 166 - November 27 - Thanksgiving morning

I was just taking a look at the map of member visits, and I (like I always am) was again astonished by the number of visits that ConnorWatch has received from people outside of the US. I get really excited when new places show up on the map, and so I hop over there regularly to see who's logging on from where. As I was looking at it this morning, I realized that I'm sitting here looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving, and yet many of you may have only a sketchy idea of why Americans do such a thing. What I mean is this - I have a vague idea of what Guy Fawkes Day or Boxing Day is, but since we don't celebrate those holidays here in the States, I'm not really familiar with them. I suspect if you've never celebrated Thanksgiving before, you'd feel the same, so I thought I'd throw in some quick background for all of us.

Without trying to sort out fact from myth, and without making any claim to historical accuracy, here's the general idea - back in 1621 or so, a bunch of folks came from England to settle in what is now Massachusetts. Not knowing much about surviving in the wild frontier, these people nearly starved to death during the first year, but with the help of some of the local people managed to secure their foothold and survive. At some point, legend has it, the colonists and the natives had a great big feast, giving thanks to God for their provision and for seeing them secure in their new homes.

This basic story is taught in American schools across the country, and has resulted in what I consider to be the best holiday out there - Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Day in America has developed into a tradition of people gathering around copious amounts of food (including but not limited to turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, yams and/or sweet potatoes, all sorts of vegetables, gallons of gravy, cranberry sauce, and the traditional pumpkin pies ) to be with family and friends and to remember what God has done for us. OK, I suspect many in America don't actually do the "remember what God has done for us" part - they're just in it for the football and the day off of work - but that's basically what the holiday is about; thanking God for His blessing. And the cool thing about it is that no one has successfully turned Thanksgiving into another consumerism free-for-all like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc. - so you can actually experience the holiday for what it was intended for - giving thanks to God for His watchcare over us.

So, here goes - I would love to hear what y'all are thanking God for this year. If you're an American with plenty of experience in this Thanksgiving Day exercise, I have one rule for you - you have to actually think about it, not just trot out the usual "I'm thankful for my health" or whatever. You know what I'm talking about, too, so don't pretend otherwise! As for the rest of the ConnorWatch family, anything goes. No rules for you!

So I'll start it off with a couple of things I thank God for each day. First, I thank God for giving me such an abundance of close quality time with my son, Connor. Our relationship has grown so much closer than it was before, and I appreciate it very much. Second, I thank God that there are hundreds and thousands of people who are lifting Connor up for healing. I believe that each of you are instrumental in the process Connor and our family is going through, and that this family of people that has grown together around my son is something God has intended for a purpose, and so I give thanks to Him for gathering each of you around us as He has.

Now, I'd like to hear two things you're thankful for. Let's hear 'em!

Eric

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