thankful thursday #158

Thanksgiving is low-key around here, and it's welcomed.

I thoroughly enjoy a lazy morning, a brisk run, some killer food, a food coma nap, a college football game, time to read for pleasure, and a crackling fire in the hearth.

In the spirit of honesty, though, I can't help but feel a hint of sadness over the reality that our family isn't all together today.

We're not all together because generations before us have passed on. Cousins and aunts and uncles and siblings are spread across the country, celebrating with their intermediate families. Jobs prevent travel home. In-laws claim a share of children who belong biologically to another set of parents.

It's the way life goes, and sometimes it just feels incomplete.

Last year after Thanksgiving, I cried a lot at this realization. It all seemed so unnatural, to be separated from family, and frankly, discouraging, to accept the fact that those times will likely be few and far between for families like ours, who grow and expand and live a full life.

And so it goes. God never promises that our families will be together for all of time, and he never promises that we'll get the pleasure of enjoying all of our families at any one time.

I'm grateful to spend the time I do with any of my family, and look forward to the times undetermined, when we are all together at one time.

Be thankful for any and all family you had the privilege of seeing this year at Thanksgiving. Go on, be grateful!