Giving Thanks

As yet another Thanksgiving comes around I greet it with a vastly different perspective.  Yes, I am grateful for my home, my prosperity and the bounty that the Lord has provided me not just today but throughout the past year.  But this year there is a different perspective, the festivities matter less and my family more.  The feast is secondary to blessing and strength that I have been provided by the prayers and associations of family and friends.  I have come to realize how truly blessed I am.  Let me share those things which top my list for giving thanks this year:

The Atonement of Our Savior – through my faith I know that someday I will leave this mortal life and return to presence of my Heavenly Father.  A gift made possible by the suffering and sacrifice of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ.  This knowledge comforts me in the dark hours of the morning when I can do nothing but think about what this disease means and my mortality.

My Wife – Julie is by far the best that God has created in a woman.  She exemplifies the Saviors example of loving unconditionally.  She has walked by my side, my wife, my companion, my lover, and most importantly my best friend for over half my life.  She musters strength to push me forward when I am down and to comfort me when troubled.  There is not a sacrifice that she would not make for me.  There is no man than can count himself more blessed than I.

My Family – I have been blessed with two wonderful children that bless my life every day.  I am joyed to see them as adults.  To see their expressions of caring and concern for me, as they do what they can to care for me on the “bad days.”  So much of my life has been focused on caring for them, and providing for them that it feels “odd” when the tables are turned and they are caring for me.  But there is also a peaceful satisfaction that comes from this, a satisfaction that in large part I have succeeded as a parent in teaching them those things that matter most in life are not tangible but rather the intangible.  I am also touched by the several family members who have offered to donate a portion of their liver to me.  One in particular, not only has no hesitations but seems egger to do it.  This is humbling, that he and his family are willing to make such a generous offer and not just passively.  As the Savior said “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 13:13)”  How can a man be more blessed than to have a family like mine.

Medical Science – Only a couple decades ago my diagnosis, at my current stage of progression,  would have offered little more than a mortality prognosis of 3 or 4 years and maybe less.  I am thankful for the many members of the medical community that have been instruments in the Lord’s hands as he has used them and their gifts to progress medical science.  To move transplantation from and experiment to a mainstream treatment.  I also give thanks to the early patient who participated and helped move the science forward.  This is a wonderful blessing.  I must also express gratitude to all those who have in times of painful loss and sorrow generously donated their organs of the organs of loved ones that others might live.  All of the medical science would be for naught without these donors.

Of course I am grateful for my prosperity and the bounty that it has bestowed on my life.  I am grateful for the many opportunities that I have been able to afford my children that I did not have.  I am grateful for the sacrifices of my parents who worked tirelessly to ensure that we had all of the opportunities possible.  That they were willing to give to us their most valuable asset, their time and their wisdom.  The opportunities that they provided have been incredibly valuable in my life, they gave me experiences that many of my peers never had, experiences that have shaped my heart, my mind and my soul.  I am also grateful for the bounties of the earth that grace my life each and every day.  I go without want when so many, even in this modern world do have want.

Finally, this year has truly been filled with tribulation and I expect no less from the coming year.  But this tribulation has been a blessing too, for when one is faced with the limits of their own mortality we tend to learn quickly to focus on those things that have real importance and all other things seem to fade or disappear.   So I am thankful for this disease, for the good that it has brought out in those around me.  For the way it has humbled me and forced me to accept the kindness and generosity of others.  It is amazing how much more difficult it is to receive than to give.  I have never had trouble being generous, giving to others whenever I could but now my very life depends on me being able to accept a gift of great sacrifice from another.

As you gather around your Thanksgiving table this day I encourage you to pause and consider what is truly important and then before you give thanks for the turkey and the stuffing, give thanks for the important things in your life.  Life can change in the blink of an eye so use today to hold your wife a little tighter, tell her that you love more, hug your children and thank them for blessing your life.  Welcome your neighbors and friends with open arms.  But most importantly kneel and pray more often.  This is my pray this Thanksgiving 2009.