Every year at this time we're called to reflect upon all the good things in our lives and give thanks for them. Believe me I am more thankful than you know for the blessings that my family and I have experienced. Good health is way more relevant to me now than in the past years. I'm blessed for my family & being able to have a nice home, working cars and a full pantry of food. I have been blessed with a good job & great friends. I'm thankful that I have received a Godly legacy from my parents and my family. I could go on and on about all of the good things.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BAD THINGS?

 It's easy to call out those things that are obvious blessings but those things which cause us pain or discomfort are a little harder to give thanks for aren't they? When you lose a loved one or a job. When you struggle to pay the bills between checks. When your spouse turns their back on you & the relationship dissolves. When your children are distant and caught up in a dangerous lifestyle. When sickness or disease takes over your body and your health declines a little bit more each day. When everything around you seems to be headed in the opposite direction of life itself then it is hard to give thanks isn't it?

Every breath we are given in this life is a gift even when the challenges of life sometimes make those very breaths hard to even take. We take the simplest things for granted. We overlook the blessing in the pain or discomfort. We fail to see anything good when things seem so bad. The challenges in our lives can bring us to our knees and maybe that is just where we belong? 

 Sometimes it takes the bad things in a man's life to help him recognize the good things. It could be he's overlooking them? Maybe they're just around the corner? Whatever the case may be you might be amazed at how things change when you start giving thanks for those things. A change not necessarily on the outside of a man but on the inside. 

This Thanksgiving try something a little different. If you say a prayer of thanksgiving start by giving thanks for all those challenges in your path. You might find that the hidden blessings of pain begin to reveal themselves to your heart as you pray. If you don't typically pray then why not give it a try. 

 Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family from the men of