“Some come and leave, fulfilling a single purpose; others, for a time or a season to teach us by sharing their experiences; and last, a select few who participate forever with relationships that endure through eternity.” ~Jaren L. Davis

November is upon us, and with it comes the wonderful holiday we call Thanksgiving.  We all know the history of that great American tradition, and the memories we have formed with our families conjure up thoughts of food, football, cousins, shopping, traveling, and more food.  But it is also a day when our nation as a whole pauses to “count our blessings.”  Even though Christians should be thankful DAILY, most of us are more aware of being thankful in this month of Thanksgiving. 

When I consider my blesssings, the ones I treasure the most in this life are the relationships I have with other people.  My all-time favorite movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  I love this movie because of the premise behind it, as summed up by Clarence in this quote:  “Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?”  Watching that movie always makes me think about those who have touched my life, and made me who I am.  I think I don’t do enough to thank those people. 

For the month of November, I will undertake a “Thanksgiving project.”  For the 30 days of the month, I will post about 30 people who have touched my life over the past 46 years.  I sat down yesterday to make a list of 30, and I quickly came up with a list of twice that number without much thought – a list which will easily grow as I take the time to think more about it.  Some are people who have briefly crossed my path, others have come and stayed a while but are now gone, and then a few are lifetime relationships.  I treasure them all, for without each of them, I would not be who and where I am in this life – there would be that “awful hole” that Clarence spoke about. 

Since I’m planning to do one entry a day for 30 days, I obviously cannot include every person on my “list.”  I will draw a name randomly each day, so they will be in no particular order.  I will regretfully be forced to leave out some important people.  If you are reading this, you are on that list, whether you find an individual entry about yourself or not.  My life is better because of you, and “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”