Giving Thanks

It is at this time of year that people of faith feel most keenly about the blessings that have been bestowed upon them by the Creator of All Things. Most people feel thankful for family and friends, but we are most grateful for the Son of God who sacrificed Himself that we may have eternal life. No matter what challenges you face, you know in your heart if God brought you to it He’ll bring you through it.

Pity the liberal socialist who has replaced Almighty God with an false idol of a government monolith, providing them meager substance at the cost of their souls. Gratitude is hard to come by when you think everything is gotten without any personal sacrifice. The love of God has been replaced with arrogance and anger in their empty souls. That is why they can never be satisfied, no matter what they have. Without Grace you have basically nothing.

I am most thankful this year for the amazing doctors and staff at Rockford Memorial Hospital. I went in for an angioplasty Tuesday and everything went well. I had a 4-way bypass in 2004 and one of the bypasses had collapsed, restricting the blood flow. That was the origin of the extreme pain I would feel sometimes. The cardiologist put in a stent and everything should be fine now. They kept me overnight for observation and I came home yesterday. The third shift CNA is an older black lady and we became friends. I even talked her into getting me some coffee from the nurses station at 4AM, since they didn’t start serving breakfast until 6:30. We talked for some time about kids, grandkids, and a lot of things in general. I told her that God puts people in your life for a reason. We’ll probably never meet again, but I was thankful to get to know her for the time we had. I’ll always remember that cup of coffee. It’s funny how life works that way sometimes.

My daughter works in the billing department at the hospital and she brought the grandkids to see me after she finished work Tuesday. They weren’t used to seeing somebody like that, and I think they may have been a little grossed out when I described the procedure I had. We all hugged and are looking forward to seeing each other soon.

Not the least of what I’m thankful for is having a new president. It remains to be seen what kind of leader he turns out to be, but it’s a safe bet he’s worlds better than the alternative. I love all of you here so much it would have been most difficult to say goodbye rather than have to document any more years of a democrat reign of terror.