Thanksgiving is Over, But I'm Not

At the new church in the Big City, we always sing a chorus at the end of the offering.

"Thanks, thanks, I give You thanks, for all You've done,
I am so blessed, my soul is at rest, oh Lord, I give you thanks."

While I was doing a bit of the woe is me act during my recent four day holiday, I forgot to really think about all the things I'm truly thankful for. Usually every time I pray, I begin by thanking God for blessing me and my friends and family. I have a nice job that I mostly enjoy, I've got a great place to live, I'm healthy, and I have a lot of people who like "W" for who I am. The list goes on and on, but I've got it pretty good. All it takes is a bad day here or a something there and it's easy to forget the good things.

Last Wednesday, I promised another inspirational post from a church service two Sundays ago. Before the offering, there's usually a time of testimony. That week, a woman makes her way to the front and begins telling the most incredible story. The short version. She was a national champion trampoline tumbler gymnast. She took great satisfaction and got a lot of strength from this God given talent. One day she was doing a stunt she'd performed thousands of times and came out of the pike position and landed wrong. From that day on, she's been completely paralyzed. She has to rely on others to do everything for her. I was in tears, as she told how she gave up on life, on everything, on God. She said she couldn't even talk to Him anymore. Then one day, a Reverend from the church came by to visit and share a time of prayer and offered her help. The Reverend is a lesbian. The woman telling the story is straight. She said it wasn't about sexuality or anything like that. It was about one human reaching out to another human. Soon, other church members began visiting and offering help and love and support. Finally, the woman came to church and said after a short while she realized what she was missing. She told us it doesn't matter who you are or why you're different, in the end we're all the same, and at this church, we treat each other that way. No one stares or judges (well maybe some of the queens critiquing each others outfits). No one reacts in a negative way. At the end of the day, we're all just people. We may not be like the person next to us or across the room or across the street, but we're all human and deserve respect.

So yes, despite all the pain and hurt and blah feelings of the last week or so, I can honestly say I'm thankful to be alive, thankful for all I have, and thankful for Thom and our friendship.

Take a minute or so each day to remind yourself of what you're thankful for, maybe it'll help you get through those not so great moments.

Kisses all around!

"W"