I’m grateful for reminders of last year’s thanks.
Because I need to remember what I was thankful for then.
So I can be thankful for it again now.
Exactly a year ago today, my family was celebrating our last Thanksgiving with our parents, although we didn’t know it at the time. We weren’t clueless however; our dad had been mysteriously losing weight.
But none of us could have guessed he’d be gone three months later from lung cancer. Nor that our mom would also be gone seven months after that.
Before we ate that night at my sister’s house, we got quiet for Daddy to pray for the food. He started out strong, as he always did. But midway he got choked up, not what he always did. Did he know how sick he really was? Did he somehow know this would be his last Thanksgiving with us?
What we all did know was how grateful we were to all still be together. Thankful for years of love. Thankful for years of happy times.
That’s what I want to keep remembering. Years of love. Years of happy times. It’s all still there, available to be accessed in a thought, in a word, in a photo.
If I thanked God for it then, I can still thank God for it now.
* * *
Do you remember something you were thankful for last year?
Are you still thankful for it this year?
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16 comments:
Thanks for sharing that Lisa. We take so much for granted and assume we know what is best or what will happen. I am sorry for your loss. I am thankful for knowing our God is good. Have a blessed Lord's Day.
Oh, bless your sweet heart ~ You had a hard year. My mother had lung cancer too. My parents have been gone a long time. I was thankful for my family. Blessings ~
Aren't you glad to have those beautiful pictures! I have a Christmas video from 1993 when several of my family were healthy and still with us. It is precious.
Hi Lisa, thanks for visiting my blog. I want to let you know, that I know what you are going through. I lost both of my parents in the same week, both suddenly and both unexpectedly. That was 13 years ago and not a day goes by that I don't think of them. But I no longer feel the pain that I did in those first few years. I was really dreading that first Christmas because my Mom and Dad made every Christmas so special but as it turned out, it was one of the best Christmases ever. Yes, I am so thankful that I was blessed to have such wonderful parents who loved me so much to teach me the ways of our Lord and left me with a legacy of wonderful memories. I can tell from your post that your parents did the same. Call on those memories, they will give you strength. Have a blessed Sunday and may you find peace this Thanksgiving knowing your parents are enjoying the greatest Thanksgiving of all.
What a WONDEERFUL post and a reminder that we must treasure each and every moment. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
what a sweet post!! thanks for sharing this with us..
Have a blessed thanksgiving week ahead!!
Blessings,
Ruth
Lisa,
What a touching beautiful post. Remember and cherish the memories that you have and take in all the love you can get from the ones around you that love and care for you. Your parents obviously raised a lovely person with the capacity to truly love, and in you they WILL be there this Thanksgiving and always.
Sweet Blessings,
Virginia
Lisa I had no idea you lost your parents within such a short time of one another. Your post makes me think of Thanksgiving 1988 - the last one with my Mom. Perhaps I'll write about it this week. We lost her unexpectedly to heart failure less than two weeks later. I'm so thankful that our family had the last Thanksgiving together.
Blessings,
Joan
What a blessing to remember the last Thanksgiving you spent with your parents. I know it is bitter-sweet. It is so true. It's good to have pictures and memories of happy times. Thank you for sharing yours with us.
Blessings,
Charlotte
Bless your heart. It is so hard the first year experiencing their absence at holidays. Concentrate on the good memories and know that they will always be with you.
Blessings, Annette
That was such a sad gentle post. Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
I love the way you wrote your Thanksgiving post, Lisa. Love the photos and the anointed message. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Hugs,
Mary
Sending hugs your way. Those first holidays without our loved ones can be very hard, though blessed with special memories.
Lisa, I found through my losses, that remembering special times was part of my healing, and I hope you are finding this to be true for you as well.And by reading this post I think you are healing. The first photo was so touching to me. I think this was a beautiful memory.
I was very close to my Dad, and remembering times we had together is what helped me. I remember the last time I hugged and kissed him and said goodbye, this will be forever etched in my mind, but what I am most thankful for is that I have that blessed hope of seeing and being with him one day.
Please forgive me for having a long comment.
I was so blessed by this.
Wishing you and your family a most blessed Thanksgiving .
HUgs, Sue
What lovely memories you have. Thank-you for sharing your photos with us.
God Bless,
Ginger
Thank you for sharing your photos with us. The losses you have experienced are so great, and your faith shines through your sorrow. How wonderful you can have such sweet memories to help you. God bless ~ lifting you up in prayer.
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