Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Thankful

It is that glorious time of year, where us Canadians in the North, get to celebrate, Thanksgiving.

It always comes up so quickly. I have always preferred it be in November, but then of course, we usually have two feet of snow on the ground and we aren't celebrating the harvest.  But we always have to wait longer for Christmas to arrive, it seems.  Right now, I believe it's about 83 days to go. I

The leaves are changing their glorious colours, and then they drift to the frosty grass so we can crunch them with our rubber boots.

People sneak into pumpkin patches to take photos of their children climbing on the largest pumpkins and then post them on Facebook.

Dilapidated barns and sheds look so much more magical and romantic.



See my dilapidated barn? Doesn't it look magical and romantic? It has mice.

The moon is so much more crisp, so much larger than ever before, that one cannot help but just...stare.

That's my neighbour's house.

 The harvest is ready for picking with fresh, crunch carrots, tiny pearl quinoa grains, solid butternut squash...
Me and my carrots.

And sometimes a little surprise of hard, crunchy red corn which is perfect for decorating your house.



But one thing to remember, amidst the pumpkin spice lattes, snuggly socks and your favourite sweaters, is to remember to be thankful.  

Just as Easter reminds us that Jesus died to save us all, and Christmas reminds us of His glorious birth, and birthdays remind us of a loved one, anniversaries remind us of our sweet soul mates, Valentine's day reminds us to love, Thanksgiving is to be thankful. 


Life can be horribly hard. It can be wrought with pain and angst and loss of loved ones. 

But life can also be filled with moments of joy, of laughter that happens deep in your belly, of letters, of showing kindness, of babies being born, of new jobs, of someone being healed.

A thankful heart is a happy heart.

This year we have decided to have a 'Thankful jar'.  Just a plain jar that one can put little notes into. To write down every single day, what we are thankful for. And on Christmas Eve, we will read them all.  Start a new tradition with your family this year, or carry on an old tradition in a new way! Idea: Have each family member put a note in:


My dear friends.  Despite your situation... will you be thankful? Will you look for those hidden gems and realize that you do have many blessings that might be in disguise?

I am thankful for you.
Don't give up on your writing.
Don't give up on your reading.
And do not, under any circumstance, give up on GOD.  Because He is thankful, for you!

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?










2 comments:

  1. Jenn, thank you for sharing this post and those photos. That one of the barn and the forest in the background is gorgeous.

    And red corn - never knew corn could be red!

    We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia - having a few Canadian and American friends (through writing) I do get a little envious of your celebrations and the family time but perhaps I'm being overly romantic about it all. Oh, I can dream!

    Happy Thanksgiving, Jenn and thanks again.

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    1. Thanks Ian! And a Happy Thanksgiving to you. I will eat yummy turkey and gravy on your behalf.

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