Thanksgiving - 2012

Today is November 22, 2012 – Thanksgiving Day. This day gives us pause to reflect on the many things we are thankful for. I decided to send out an article listing the some of the many things I am thankful for this year:

I am thankful to God for creating me in the first place – for allowing me to wake up this morning and to enjoy this beautiful day with family and friends.  I thank God for His grace which gives me the strength to get through the many trials that I face every day all year long. I thank God for the Hope I have in an eternal life with Him in heaven – for the Faith I have to believe that He does exist, that He did create the world and me, and that He does Love me enough to have sent His Son down to earth to tell us about His Father. I am thankful that God loves mankind enough that He did not give up on us when Adam and Eve fell into sin, giving all of us a fallen nature that wants to move away from God and toward the easier path of sin. I am thankful that God’s pure Love for all of us allowed Him to forgive us even after we beat His Son to death and hung Him on a cross to die. All we have to do is love God back and love our neighbors in a similar fashion. Not too tough, but we make it quite a job sometimes.

I am also thankful for all of you who have been praying for me and for our family during this past year. I know that the reason I am doing well so far is because of all of the people praying for us. I am lifted up by your prayers and thoughts!

I am thankful for Margaret – words make it hard to describe how much I love her. She is such a strong person and has been so good through all of this. I have the easy job here, and she has the tough job. I get to move on to heaven, once my journey here is done, and she has to stay behind for a time and carry on. I think God chose her to remain because she is much stronger than I could ever hope to be. I told Margaret that I will be waiting for her on a bench just inside the gates of heaven.

I am thankful for all of our sons, their wives, and our grandchildren, Kolbe and Jameson. I know this has been a hard year for all of them, but they are doing a great job and have been very supportive and helpful through all of this.

I am thankful for all of our friends and for the Rosary Club we belong to, for Father Chuck, Father Joe, and for all of the priests in our lives and in this area who pray for us and have supported us. I am thankful for Cheryl Prunty and the faith she has shown me over the years of her battle with cancer. I am thankful for the Circle of Hope group of people out in the Hartford area who are fighting cancer in their lives.

I am thankful to Sioux Fall Fire Rescue and the many great friends I have on that department.

I am thankful to my Mom and Dad and to all of the Jarding family. They have rallied at our side through all of this, they continue to pray for us and for each other, and they pray and support our relatives who are fighting cancer as well.

Finally, I am thankful to Mary, the virgin mother of God. She has been my rock and my go to person through this journey. I pray to her each day, and she intercedes on my behalf to her son, Jesus Christ. If I can’t sleep, I pray the rosary. During radiation treatments, I prayed the rosary. During infusions, I pray the rosary. When we are going in for an MRI of my brain, I pray the rosary. Mary loves all of us, and she is our mother up in heaven. I have said at least one rosary per day for many years now – if you do not pray the rosary, start. It will change your life!

God Bless all of you, and have a Happy Thanksgiving Season!