Seven Things I Am Thankful For In 2021

It’s that time of the year again. We’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving, the day set aside to reflect on all of the blessings of our lives. It’s not just a day though, is it? Doesn’t it seem like our thoughts go to the things we are grateful for every November?

As I reflect on Thanksgiving 2021, here are a few of the things for which I am thankful.

I’m thankful for my home. One thing about this past year and a half is that my home has been a place of refuge, probably because I’ve spent way more time in it. Also, in many ways, my neighborhood has become more neighborly.

I’m thankful for my friends. I have some truly amazing friends, women who I know are there for me all the time. It has been good to spend more time with them this year. It seemed almost like emerging from a cocoon to be able to socialize more. I learned the importance of being intentional in my friendships this year — not doing the easy thing and closing myself off.

I’m thankful for my health. We have been consumed with thoughts of a pandemic for over a year. It’s heartbreaking the number of people who have suffered illness or even the death of loved ones. I’m thankful that neither I nor anyone else in my family experienced serious illness this year. My daughter-in-law got Covid back in September, but thankfully it was a mild case.

I’m thankful for my husband. We have been able to do some fun things together this year, like travel to Maine and to the mountains of North Carolina. He supports me in so many ways, and he’s just a really good guy.

I’m thankful for my parents. We have lived in the same neighborhood for almost thirty years and have dinner together most Monday nights. I’m especially thankful that in spite of some chronic health issues, they have managed to stay Covid-free during the pandemic.

I’m thankful for my children and their spouses. It’s been five years since we’ve spent a Thanksgiving together and that was before I had a daughter-in-law. My husband and I may not have spent the holiday with our kids but at least they were together — in Edinburgh, Scotland! It makes me so happy to know that my children and their spouses enjoy being together. Honestly, when they were younger and at each other’s throats, I wondered if that would even be a possibility. (Can you say sibling rivalry?)

I’m thankful most of all for my faith in God and His son Jesus Christ. I’m thankful that God sent his son to die on a cross to pay for my sins so I can be with him forever. I’m thankful for the love, joy and peace I can experience because of his sacrifice. Most of all, I’m thankful for the gift of hope. In this world that is often dark, mean and scary, it is good to know that there is always hope.

As we shift from Thanksgiving to Christmas our minds shift from a spirit of gratitude to a spirit of hope, the hope that was born in Bethlehem two-thousand years ago. I pray that you and yours experienced gratitude, even in the midst of heartache and that you will have a strong sense of hope as we look toward Christmas.

Oh, and I almost forgot one more thing. I’m also very thankful for one special labradoodle named Boone. He has brought much joy to our lives this year.