Every Thanksgiving for as many years as I can remember, my mother had a tradition at Thanksgiving dinner. After my father prayed over the food, my mother asked each of us to name one thing that had happened in the last year that we were thankful for. As I got older, knowing that I would have to state what I was grateful for, I started thinking about the year a couple of weeks in advance of the holiday, and I found that even in difficult years, I had a lot to be thankful for. My mother's tradition has helped me to really think about the meaning of Thanksgiving each year.
Having come through a year of intense work, I am ready to list the things for which I am most grateful in 2017:
1. Beto O'Rourke is not Texas' newest Senator. I know there were a lot of losses on November 6, but, knowing Beto and his real outlook on property rights and business, this win was really important. Losing Beto, and keeping Texas red, is something worth celebrating.
2. The economy is strong. After so many years of lingering recession, seeing a year where many people are finding jobs and recovering financially is such a blessing. Although interest rates are rising, rates remain comparatively low. Many families are a lot better off than they have been for a long time--and that's something for which all of us should be thankful.
3. After another difficult year full of changes, I am once again working with great group of people in a great environment. I feel very blessed to have these people in my life.
4. At least here in DFW, the housing market remains strong and, compared to other major markets, prices remain affordable.
5. Frontier 2000 Media Group has produced a fourth book in the N series. N: The Eye, was released in late October and continues the story of Petra and the Ns. Our first review was five stars. We are now finishing the third installment of Kinsman, Between Darkness and Dawn, although that will not release until fall of 2019. Our work continues to grow. Joyce writes the entire N Series, and she has written the lion's share of Between Darkness and Dawn. I am incredibly grateful for our partnership and her faithfulness in every situation.
6. God hears us. No matter how dire our circumstances may appear or how desperate we may feel at times, we are never alone when we know the Lord. I went through years of extreme sadness, loss and stress, and to not be in that place any more is a huge gift. I spent much of this year--as I have spent the past decades, praying and working. Much of what I prayed for and worked for is still left undone. But I trust that God has this and that He hears us when we call out to Him for help. So I will continue to pray for America and ask Him to save this nation. And I will continue to trust that He sees both the big circumstances facing our nation and the individual circumstances of our lives and that He cares equally about both. "Don't worry about things--food, drink and clothes. For you already have life and a body--and they are more important than what to eat and what to wear. Look at the birds! They don't worry about what to eat--they don't need to sow or reap or store up food--for your heavenly Father feeds them...And why worry about your clothes? Look at the field lilies! They don't worry about theirs. Yet King Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as beautifully as they. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't He more surely care for you....So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time." (Matthew 6: 25-34 TLB)
Now that's something we can be thankful for every day! Happy Thanksgiving.
Alexandra Swann is the author of No Regrets: How Homeschooling Earned me a Master's Degree at Age Sixteen and several other books. Her holiday series, Kinsman, is available in paperback and on Kindle. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net.
