November 24, 2018
A few days before Thanksgiving, a friend I had written about in Inferno in the Lost Pines lost her husband. Dean and Debra Pahlow met at an occult shop where Debra was a witch before coming to know and trust the goodness of the Lord. Their story through the fire that took their home was inspiring as well. Now, Debra is the lone parent of their four children.
How devastating! Sometimes –tragically– sorrows in the lives of others are the things that remind us how blessed we are.
“Did you use a breathing machine when you were little?” a former patient of mine asked me.
The first answer was easy.
“No.”
Then she asked the hard question.
“Why not?”
For her, a machine to assist her breathing is part of normal life. How do I answer that question?
I finally stammered out something about my lungs functioning properly without a machine.
This Thanksgiving, I’m so grateful for all the medical devices I’ve never needed. I’m grateful for family and friends and good health. We are visiting my husbands brother Ed in Mississippi along with others of the Lee family.
I’m grateful for my husband and all the fun we had together the last 51 weeks as husband and wife. One pastime has been teasing each other about “my side and your side”, well demonstrated here on either side of a state line on a bridge above the Mississippi River. 😀
I’m grateful for the safe arrival of Jill Elsie, my youngest sister’s new baby. Isn’t she adorable?
I’m grateful for sister-in-law Nancy, putting us up at their house and taking us around Southaven and Memphis to many cute and interesting places including the Peabody Hotel where live ducks swim in the fountain water. (The ducks had already taken the elevator to their room upstairs when we arrived.)
I’m grateful for the energy of these triplets, getting ready to disc golf. (Those are NOT frisbees, so don’t even think that word in your head. They are discs. 😀)
I’m grateful for the phone call I got last Thursday. The fibroid removed in surgery was as they expected, not cancer.
Happy Thanksgiving/beginning of Christmas season to all!
And for those who may find it is not a happy one, I hope you can find God faithful to show you joy in His presence.
8 thoughts on “Thanksgiving: Blessings, and Sorrows Spared”
Katrina, I, too, am thankful for the joy you have in your marriage, your good surgical outcome and the precious love of our Lord and Savior. Press on dear one. Everyday should be the best day of our life with Jesus, He never changes.
Living loved, choosing joy; Linda
Thanks Linda! I always appreciate your encouragement to draw joy from our relationship with Christ. God bless!
Thankful n praising the Lord with you!!
😀👌
Oh how fun that you visited the Peabody Hotel. I enjoyed reading John Philip Duck by Patricia Polacco about these famous ducks to my children.
Gina
Interesting! I didn’t know there was a book!
Yes! My first impulse was to run and look for our book to see if it’s the same hotel. What fun! I didn’t know it was a real place we could still go to.
I ordered the book!