Sunday, December 15, 2024

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Some Can’t See, Hear or Walk, but They’ll Give Thanks

By Al Campbell

There are many who cannot see the sun or moon, they will not see the smiles on children’s faces or drink in the stunning vistas of sunrises or sunsets, yet they do not consider themselves blind.
There are those who face chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer, yet they do not think themselves unfortunate, they are glad and rejoice to simply be alive.
Among us are folks who cannot walk a woodland path or saunter along the seashore, still they make greater strides than many who have two feet and the ability to use them.
The sunshine falls warm on the land, yet there are those too removed from nature to see or feel that energy from millions of miles away, I am so thankful to enjoy the feelings.
For many, the wonderful sound of a church bell ringing, a bird singing or a bee buzzing is nothing but silence. They cannot hear sounds of laughter or the singing of young voices, still in their hearts, they adapt and are grateful for life’s other blessings.
There are elder relatives residing in distant lands or far parts of this nation who long to see their children or grandchildren, brothers or sisters, but cannot, yet they are not bitter, and cherish those around them as their surrogate family.
Countless millions of men and woman have families to support, yet they cannot find suitable work. While some are disillusioned by their present state, others seize the opportunity to start anew, and serve their communities in ways previously not known.
Some of our brothers and sisters are chemically dependent on substances that may claim their lives. They want to be clean, want to live free of their addictions, and are grateful when they live their first day without those lethal compounds that could kill them. Their road is long and narrow.
There are children who sorely long for their father or mother. Life has dealt them a bitter hand. May a caring man or woman enter their life to fulfill that deep emotional need. Children need parents who love and care for them.
As many of us await the joyful announcement, “Dinner is served,” there are those who live with a pager, awaiting joyous the word that a heart, lung or liver has become available that will change their life, and allow them added days to serve mankind. They will be thankful to that donor, whom they will never know, yet to whom they will owe their very life.
Across the seas are masses of our brothers and sisters who see the land in which we live, and long to be among us. They look around their own lands and see meager opportunities for the future, and seek asylum in America. Many of us forget the very things they long to possess in this land of opportunity and freedom.
As we are offering thanks for many small blessings, let us think of our servicemen and women in military hospitals, whose lives were shattered serving this country in war-torn parts of the world. They are learning to live without a leg or arm, or arms and legs, or sight or sound mind, and may be adopting to life with a prosthetic device. Be thankful beyond measure for arms and legs, eyes and ears and a sound mind.
In many parts of the world, the prospect of having fresh water is but a distant, unattainable dream. Many trudge miles each day to get water that is sometimes not safe to drink, yet must be used. Think how blessed you are when you thirst, and with a twist of the faucet, that thirst is quenched.
Famine and disease plaque many of our brothers and sisters in arid jungle countries. Their homes, such as they were, were claimed by earthquakes or floods, volcanoes or tsunamis, and the places they call home we would barely allow a dog to sleep therein. How grateful we must be for four walls and a roof.
While we may not see them in such abundance as in metropolitan areas, there are many homeless among us. Through life’s unfortunate circumstances, they have nowhere to sleep. Think of them as you crawl into a warm bed with clean sheets.
The practice of saying grace before a meal may be an endangered act in this land of plenty. Regardless of one’s religion, the very act of pausing before eating to give thanks to a supreme being who made the bounty available is a valuable lesson in humility and life.
Again, the sage words of the late Rev. William W. Shelton come to mind, “Every time you say ‘thank you’ is ten times you don’t have to say ‘please.’”
Happy Thanksgiving!

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