I am grateful

I am grateful.

I am grateful for my health. The ability and the capability of my body to travel and walk and bike and run and climb and breathe and see and hear is often overlooked. Today I am not overlooking the simple blessing of it. I know everyone is not blessed with these capabilities. Further, I know my own current capabilities are no guarantees for the future. So for everyday that I get up with the ability to do…I am grateful.

I am grateful for my wife, the mother of my children, my journey companion, my best friend and my life’s love. And I’m grateful that they are all wrapped up in the same person…Shirley Elaine “Lainey” Sanders Staires. At a time when many couples have grown apart; finding interest and passion outside their own relationship, I am blessed to be a part of a “Great Awakening.” After many years of marriage, I am awakening to the many facets of beauty and value, of delight and mystery that make up Lainey Staires. Over the years I’ve done and said many things that could’ve torn down and destroyed my marriage. That it’s survived-and is thriving-is a testament to a loving and gracious God and the depth of love, commitment and tenacity of this amazing woman.

I am grateful for my kids. Each one is so unique, so talented, so special in their own way. And the ones who have chosen spouses have chosen wisely. My kids are contributors to the greater good. They add to whatever equation they find themselves a part of. They make a difference. I know you’re probably proud of your kids. Know this…I’m more proud of mine.

I’m grateful for my family; my brother, my two sisters, my mom and the powerful legacy of my dad. Everyday I feel their strength in my life. I am hemmed in by the power of their devotion and held fast by the chains of their great love. I can choose where I may go but I can’t change where I’ve come from…whom I’ve come from. Nor would I ever want to.

I am grateful for purpose and vision in my life. If passion is the engine that drives us then vision and purpose is the rudder that steers us. Without a sense of purpose an destiny I’d be adrift in a vast ocean of possibilities; too many choices, too many distractions. I’d be hopelessly aimless. My purpose at once grounds me and directs me. My passion pulls me forward. And forward is a good thing.

I am grateful. And when I’m grateful, I’m humble. I recognize that I am fortunate enough to enjoy the shade of a tree I did not plant. My life today is the result of the prayers and hard work and difficult decisions made by many who surround and have gone before me. I am warmed each day by the light of God’s grace and mercy, which by the way, is perfected in my weakness. And I am a weak man.

But I am a grateful man.