A Thanksgiving Prayer

"O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;

When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,

And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;

By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen."
by Samuel F. Pugh

Yes..I wanted to make this post happy and uplifting, and I looked through many, many, pictures and photos on here. There were some beautiful ones, showing a bountiful harvest of mouth-watering foods, with happy family gathered all around, but somehow, after finding the touching prayer above, none of the pictures seemed to fit.

I wish that everyone, on this day of thanksgiving, felt that they really had something to be thankful for, but I am enough of a realist to realize that many won't be feeling that way, at all. We do have much to be thankful for, no doubt about that, but somehow, it is not the same in this country, anymore.

It's true that I feel very blessed, and I realize that I am, but I can, also, remember at times, growing up, that we hardly had enough food to sustain us. If we got sick, we couldn't go to a doctor, and I can remember a time when I actually wore shoes with cardboard inside them, to keep out the wet and cold. No, I am not so old that I lived through the depression. It's just that we were poor, and it was always a struggle, but along with all of that, there was, also, hope for a better time..a better way of life, and I eventually, found it.

Now, it seems that all of that--the hope for something better--has been snatched away, and I know some, having had it pretty good not so long ago, are now worried about seeing it all slip away, along with the hope they once had. It seems that rather than moving forward with hope, we are going backwards, and instead of hope, there is fear. It is hard to think about that, and it shouldn't be this way.

Yes, let's give thanks for what we have, now, but let's not forget the ones without food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and all of the things that we so take for granted. Let's not forget our troops who are sacrificing everything, so far away from home, and so unappreciated by so many. As we give thanks, let us pray for their safety, and let us pray that what they are doing will never be in vain.

Let us pray that our country will always remain one nation under God..that we will never be robbed of the liberty and justice to which we are all entitled, by those whom have not our best interests at heart.

Most of all...let's just pray.

And pray.

That could be the only thing that saves our great nation at this point.