Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow!  Can you believe it's already time for Thanksgiving?  Didn't we just start the year a couple of months ago?  When we were kids, time seemed to crawl by---Christmases took forever to come and birthdays seemed to be a couple of years apart.  Nowadays, however, time flies so fast Boeing is trying to figure out a way to harness the speed for commercial use!

We in the Ostrander household have so very much for which to be thankful.  My husband and I have steady jobs; our children are fairly healthy (all things considered!); we have a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs; our vehicles run most of the time!!  No matter how much we feel we have to complain about, the truth is that our God loves us and provides for us exactly what we need.  I cannot tell you the number of times I have wanted a magic lamp to rub and be granted wishes by a genie for a new car, a new house, a slimmer figure, a better voice.  I'm 43 years old and I have yet to find that lamp!  God gives us what we need, knowing full well that if we had everything our hearts desired, we would not need Him as much.......or at least we would act that way.  If I had a brand-new van that didn't break down every time the weather changed, I would not be in constant communication with my Father about keeping the van running.  If I had a beautiful house all on one level (so we wouldn't have to worry about Dale and stairs) with plenty of space (and a maid to clean it all!), I wouldn't be as appreciative of my family and our joint efforts to make our house as homey and comfortable as we do.  If I seriously got everything I wanted, I wouldn't be any better off than I am now.  I'd still be looking at something else and wishing I had that.  So, I'd best learn to be thankful for what God has given me right now so that He will be able to bless me later on with other good things instead of having to withhold them because of my rotten attitude.

Of course, what we are most grateful for is our son's continued life.  Dale is well and growing and alive!  Just the other day, I was talking to a friend of mine who reminded me that, even though Dale talks with more deliberate speech and struggles with simple memory tasks, he is very much still Dale.  He's a smart aleck who thinks he's right about everything and constantly argues with everyone around him as a result.  He deals with his physical difficulties (shaky legs, falling, etc.) by simply getting up and getting going again.  He said something the other day that nearly brought me to tears.  One of my third grade students was in my classroom after school for a while one day and asked Dale to play a game with him.  During the course of the game, their conversation got around to "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  Dale answered this question with one word:  "Mobile."  I was working at my desk nearby and not listening much but his response caught my attention.  I said, "Oh, Dale" in sympathy, and he looked over and kind of shrugged his shoulders.  I decided then and there to start working with him to exercise his muscles and strengthen his body.  God can do amazing things---and has!---but we need to work at making great things happen, too.

This Thanksgiving, remember to give God thanks, not just for what we consider the good things but for everything in our lives.  He knows what is best, and He always gives what is needed.  God bless you this week and always!

Psalm 30: 12  "To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever."