There is so much bad news right now with the economy in recession and the prospect of more banks and major businesses failing. I have the feeling from what I read and see that this will not be like any recession in recent memory. When the dust settles it will be a different world for all of us.

But for a day let’s put that aside. We will have plenty of time to come back to it all. Let’s focus on the day of national Thanksgiving that is before us. This is a favorite holiday for my family. We all gather and spend several hours together eating, talking and experiencing. Tomorrow my children and grandchildren will set around my table and we will say a prayer of thanks to God for His multiple blessings. It promises to be a good day.

I count my blessings at this time for our health and the love we share. To see my sons grown and married and coming back to my table with their children is a joy indescribable. There are times when you can go home again–to gather to break bread and continue your story.

I think of Jacob gathering his sons around him in Genesis 49 and telling them their future. That is one of the remarkable scenes in the Bible. A family gathering of twelve sons around their aging father and listening intently to the years of distilled wisdom.

I don’t have twelve sons, only two, and tomorrow I will not tell them their future prospects. But we will toast to the present joys and in doing so we’ll lay down another layer of experience in our family story. We trust in God to fulfill His promises with all our children.

Enjoy your day of thanksgiving. Think about where all our blessings come from and give God the credit.