Thanksgiving (noun)

thanks·​giv·​ing | \ thaŋ(k)s-ˈgi-viŋ  also ˈthaŋ(k)s-ˌgi-  \

Definition of thanksgiving

A: capitalized: THANKSGIVING DAY

B: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

2: the act of giving thanks

3: a prayer expressing gratitude

This year with what’s been going on this past month it would be easy to skip today. It would be easy to not be thankful. Blessings feeling overwhelmed by heartache and uncertainty as every time my phone goes off my stomach dips in unease. But that’s not why we hold Thanksgiving as a sacred day. A day set aside for friends, family, and perspective. A day for public acknowledgment and celebration for all the good we have seen this year. Expressing gratitude in the face of adversity or uncertainty. A day not about circumstances but about people. A day where we can reflect on what life is filled with, choices.

One of the only certainties I feel like life gives us is our choices. Choices to deal with the circumstances we face, the people we love, and most importantly ourselves. These choices and responses to the never-ceasing assault on our lives ultimately define us. They define our character and the person that we choose to grow into.

So today, in the face of whatever life has thrown at you in the past days, weeks, or even all eleven months of 2019 I ask who do you choose to be? Me, I am choosing joy in the face of uncertainty. I choose thanksgiving and grace despite the longing to pull back and question why. I’m choosing to let myself breathe and pour out love in a world that is so consumed with distrust and disrepair. Because no matter your circumstances I declare that we all have something to be thankful for, life. With that breath in our lungs we have a new day full of opportunity for love, heartbreak, and life. You have the choice to make your small corner of the world brighter today than it was yesterday and tomorrow better still.

Choose to thank and love those around you because you still have time. Time is a gift that so many are denied and yet so many others waste. Take time today to relish that you have time to still make mistakes and learn. Choose today to be thankful no matter what reasons you have to want to skip today. Choose today to honor the gift of breath in your lungs. Choose today to live.