“Bounty”

This is my favorite — really, my only — holiday of the year. It's not sponsored by a greeting card company, it's almost completely non-commercial. There are no stupid songs to sing. There's no false hopes attached to it, either: people don't dream of that "perfect Thanksgiving" like they do a perfect Christmas. There's no false religious basis for it: it's not a pagan fertility celebration gussied up to look like something Christian, it's not worship of the sun god.

Thanksgiving is, to me, clean, simple, and honest. It requires a little work, too. Anybody can have a Turkey Day, but to celebrate Thanksgiving you have to force yourself to think about those things you'd miss most if they were gone, and...

Thank God.

For my wife, and a relationship that makes everybody around us smile (or even blush). For my ecclesia, for my family. For my knowledge of scripture, and the faith it inspired. For my brains. For the strength to endure years of serious financial hardship, and not having to endure it alone. For family and friends who have always lent their helping hands when they were most needed. For finally having some steady, very challenging work.

Even for all those things I've under appreciated but know I'd miss. For my niece, who's growing up so fast, and the parents that are raising her. For Mark, who's finally found true love. For Jed, who's following a spiritual path in a way that so few of us are able (or choose to).

For all these things, and for everything else in my life, big and small, this holiday is this simple.

Thank God.