So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and, I gotta tell ya, this one is one for the books…and not necessarily a book that I’d like to read…

If you live in my neck of the woods, Southeast Texas, and DON’T know about the refinery explosions that have happened last night and today, you must have been trapped under something heavy for the past 18 hours or so.

The whole frightening fiasco climaxed with a mandatory evacuation of 2 of our area’s cities, and did I mention that tomorrow is Thanksgiving?

Now, we live far enough away from the catastrophe that we didn’t have to evacuate, but, to add insult to injury, after cleaning all day and doing some PRE-Thanksgiving-cooking (yes, that’s how it’s done over here for Thanksgiving, there just aren’t enough hours in the actual day of Thanksgiving to get all the cooking done,) we’ve figured out after 3-4 days of the hubs not feeling great, that he more than likely has the flu. Yep, the good ole flu.

So, we had to advise all of our guests not to come tomorrow and I will most likely be eating Thanksgiving dinner alone – a first.

Now, some of you reading may be thinking,

“Aw, poor girl, her Thanksgiving is ruined!”

Or, definitely, if you’re one of the evacuees trying to figure out how to cook your turkey in the hotel room microwave, you’re probably thinking,

“Dang it! What a terrible Thanksgiving!”

And, look, I get it; being evacuated or sick for Thanksgiving isn’t exactly what anyone would consider a Thomas Kinkade or Hallmark Channel Thanksgiving. But, the truth is, even on days like today, when the lid has been blown right off your Thanksgiving plans, uh, no pun intended, don’t we still have so much to be thankful for?

I mean, even though my hubby is sick, at least I have him in my life! He’s loving, hard working, loves Jesus, makes me laugh, provides well for my family, I could go on and on…

And, even though some people are not going to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving in their homes tomorrow, so far there are, miraculously, no fatalities and very few injuries from the explosions – something that can only be explained as the hand of God! Plus, even though some homes have damage from the blasts, most of it is minor.

Then, there’s this pesky little verse in the Bible, I Thessalonians 5:18, that says

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Now, before you throw a fit or something, the verse doesn’t say be thankful FOR all circumstances, it says be thankful IN all circumstances, and that’s different, right?

The truth is, and I honestly think this is why Paul put this verse in his letter to the Thessalonians, when you list and start thinking about all the things you are thankful for – all of your blessings – the issues you are currently going through don’t seem so bad. It’s true, you’ve GOT to try it!

So, dear friend, I’m not sure what’s going on in your little world tonight. Maybe you’re getting ready for the biggest, best Thanksgiving Day ever, or maybe, like me, you’re sitting across from your sick husband, hoping that all of the germs he’s spewing when he coughs don’t travel across the room and enter your airway…or something equally as unpleasant. No matter the circumstances, we have so much to be thankful for, not to mention a God who sent His Son to die for our sins, so that we could be in relationship with Him.

Need I say more? I mean, that’s enough for me.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! May we all live grateful lives every day!