Be Thankful!

“Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.”

— Robert Louis Stevenson

Happy Thanksgiving! It is hard to believe, but we are at that point of the year where we surround ourselves with loved ones and express appreciation for all we have been given. For me, it’s also the time of year when I hide the scales and allow myself to enjoy an extra slice of pie (or three)!

Please remember that all schools and facilities will be closed Nov. 24-28 as we celebrate this special holiday.

A recent story I read about survival helped me put “thankfulness” in perspective:

A 23-year-old soldier was among 1,700 selected for genocide by an opposing force, simply because they practiced a different religion. The young man miraculously survived the slaughter by pretending to be dead.

He lay there four hours among his deceased fellow troops before escaping to a riverbank, where he hid three days while eating insects and plants. He eventually linked up with friendly strangers who helped transport and shelter him for two weeks before reuniting him with his family. He was the only one out of 1,700 to survive.

I don’t share this harrowing story to bring you down, but instead to bring perspective to how good we have it here. It’s easy to lose sight of how blessed we are to live in a nation where we are free to believe what we want. While many throughout the world daily contemplate what they will eat and where they will sleep, our worst problem of the day is often the bad traffic on 290.

This Thanksgiving, I hope you will take a moment to refocus and remember all the gifts you have in life. Cherish and enjoy the week ahead of you. 

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.