Of all the big obvious things to be thankful for, I'm thankful for all them: family, friends, health, employment... I am truly one lucky guy when it comes to all these things. At the community Thanksgiving Service last Sunday, when I asked the congregation to name those things for which they are thankful, my teenage son was the first to shoot up his hand and he said, "family." I'm thankful for him too, as well as the rest of my children, and most especially my wife, who could find plenty of reasons not to put up with me but does anyway!
When I named my items of gratitude, I decided to add to the obvious with a more subtle list of small joys that make life so very rich. In the days preceding the service, I had first seen the David Grisman Quintet in concert, then held a saw-whet owl while volunteering at a banding station, then spent a gorgeous day on Nantucket Sound seeing thousands of birds all around the boat (the photo above doesn't do justice to the vast numbers, but it does include a Lesser Black-backed Gull, a Black-legged Kittiwake or two, and few Greater Shearwaters).
Isn't always those simple joys that stand out from the routine of our lives that make us recognize the full extent of the rich blessings that come from God? Of course the birds of the air (and sea in this case) do that for me. How about you? I think that it is the smaller blessings that help us to develop a complete and genuine attitude of gratitude.
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