As Thanksgiving approaches many of us will be thinking about the Blessings in our life, as well as reflecting on many memories of the past that had both joy and sorrow. We should try and remember that many events in our life, that at the time may have been sad, stressful, or even painful, were also learning experiences that taught us how to survive this crazy world. None of us have lived a life without hardship. We have all lost loved ones, experienced sadness and a multitude of emotions along the way. God provides us a way to endure all that we face when we put our trust in Him. As we sit at a big table full of people, or just a small gathering, or maybe even a Swanson’s frozen turkey dinner for one in front of the TV, it is a good time to reflect on our life. We will realize that everything we have experienced so far helped create our character, our determination and our decision making. We must also realize that these events DO NOT define us. We all have a past, and we cannot change anything that has already occurred, but we do have control over today and our future. Life is full of speed bumps, roadblocks, and outright demolition events, but how we react and handle them will ultimately offer us the opportunity to have peace and joy. Without any bad we would never appreciate the good, and without sadness it would be hard to experience the joy of happiness. We were all created by a God that loves us, we have also all suffered in various capacities and share each other’s pain.  As God is the Father, and God is the Son and the Holy Spirit works in all of us, we have the ability to focus on who we are, who we want to be, and a peace that comes from an unconditional Love given to us by our Creator. So, make sure to give Thanks for all that we have, but don’t forget to give Thanks for all that is yet to be.