i give thanks for you

happy thanksgiving

notes from maggie's farm

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights...  James 1:17

While I sit quietly this morning with a cup of my treasured Community Coffee, I am considering all for which I am grateful in my life.  Though I often grumble about the less than perfect details of my life, I've come to discover that it are those very things that illuminate that which is beautiful, joyful, and perfect in my life.  I won't list everything I'm thankful for--we'd never get to dinner if I started that, but I will say that I am blessed to love, and be loved by a posse of great friends from all walks of life, from all ages, from all cultures, more than I could have ever imagined.  I have the love and support of a partner that I could only have imagined  years ago, once upon a time, and together, we laugh more than any two people I know.  He is more than I can find words for.

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 I am lucky to have a family that I enjoy, and who tolerates me.  I am surrounded with joy, from chickens, and goats, and cats, and dogs, and ducks.......to the delight of having fresh eggs for breakfast every day, a tomato sandwich straight off the vine, sharing homebaked bread and butter for meals just because, having a glass of wine under a sky so filled with stars it looks like a painting, or for tinkering around the home and kitchen and delighting in the details of domesticity.  For being back in school at this late date to learn everything I've ever wanted to know of the world.  For the faith that keeps me grounded, gives me hope, holds promise for a good life. For the sunset I sat and enjoyed from the back stoop last night and the promise of a sunny beautiful day, today.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

I hope you find yourselves experiencing joy with family or friends, or if by yourself, peace and tranquility today. I give thanks for each of you.  It is because you are interested and encouraging that allows me to share my passions and daily joys with you.  Many of you are friends, some are family, and some of you read without me even knowing your names or how you've come to find me.  All are appreciated and given thanks for, and remembered this Thanksgiving Day.

Thank you,
Margaret Christine

from maggie's farm