Catholic Husband

Love / Lead / Serve

Thankful

Thanksgiving is a great American holiday. The virtue of gratitude is baked into our national DNA. There’s something really beautiful and attractive about generosity, and the way in which those Native Americans helped the first settlers is a profound statement on the innate goodness of the human person.

While my larger family typically gathers in a sleepy beach town this time of year, we won’t be able to join them this year. Being so far away from family means that this will be the first major Thanksgiving that we celebrate together, our little family unit.

In many ways I am sad to miss the annual gathering, but in the same vein, I’m excited to be starting our own traditions. Alison and I have spent weeks planning our menu and even spending some time in the kitchen doing practice baking runs.

While the Thanksgiving feast is central to the day, what underpins the holiday is an opportunity to reflect. Pausing our lives for just a moment, what are the things, blessings, and people that we ought to truly appreciate for the gifts that they are?

It’s difficult for me as a young father to comprehend that I have a family of my own. Even referring to myself as a father seems strange as I type out that word on my keyboard. I seem too young to be trusted with the responsibility of shepherding not one, but three young lives. My marriage has been a blessing, and those three little ones are a testament to that fact.

I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Perhaps I can do a better job in the coming year pausing to appreciate those blessings on a more regular basis.