Taking Grace for Granted
This Sunday is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Therefore it is an appropriate time to reflect upon the act of giving thanks, of expressing our gratitude. This year for Thanksgiving I will gather with my family at my parent's home. Most of my brothers will be there with their families. One of my brothers will be there without someone very dear to him: his wife who died two years ago. Whenever we have gathered, we always took for granted that everyone would be there. The kids would be a little older, and there would always be the latest exploits of our children to share. But the death of my sister-in-law came way too soon, at way-too-young an age. So when I look around the family, I don't take it quite for granted anymore. The blessings that are there are not necessarily a given. How many things in our life do we take for granted? How many things do we fail to give thanks for? How many times do we receive a gift and forget to express our gratitude? I know that I have do...