Thanksgiving and Wonderment

There is always so much for which to be grateful. A 19 year old has successful heart surgery; my sister has successful foot surgery; the dog's leg is better and she's not moping;the neighborhood is lush with flowers, trees, bushes, grass and weeds;I'm going to dinner at the home of old and dear friends; and I had energy and motivation today, something that is not always right there waiting for me each morning. Oh, and besides that, I can breathe, walk, talk, use all five senses, think, and on we go. Yes, if we choose to, we can never run out of blessings for which to give thanks to God. And yet, among the many tragedies of each day, dear friends are heartbroken over the untreatable cancer of their 40-something dear friend, almost son, husband and father of two young boys. How to be grateful in the midst of that agony?!

Tomorrow evening I will attend a banquet as one of 10 finalists in the Greater Lansing Woman of the Year event, sponsored by the Lansing State Journal's GLWoman magazine. It will be quite an evening, I'm sure. My daughter, plus eight good friends, are coming to support me. I have pondered how I feel about this honor: embarrassed, unworthy, grateful, humble, excited, among other feelings. Whenever something momentous happens in my life, there is always the accompanying sadness that Norris is not here to share it. In this case, he would be particularly proud and pleased. I hope his spirit is aware of it. So much of who I am and what I have contributed to the community is because of his love and encouragement. So thank you, Norris, yet again. And I hope I will be able to conduct myself in a gracious and humble manner that would please God and you. So much to give thanks for; so much to wonder about; so much mystery; so much love!