Thankful for Cat Food

I'm not a big fan at all of cats, but today I'm awfully thankful for cat food. Want to know why? Keep on reading.

I intended to write a very different blog this week. It was going to be more of a "Part 2" to last week's blog. I was going to share how, in response to my vulnerability on that Sunday I shared about, God did some pretty awesome things in our life; some things that I was going to share thanks about in advance of our upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. In particular I was going to share, and maybe will in more detail at a later time, how God made it possible for me to be part of an upcoming mission trip to El Salvador by paying my way completely.

However, that all changed today as I had a flashback in, of all places, the pet food aisle of a local grocery store. As I watched my grandmother pick up (and subsequently throw down into the cart) two containers of cat food, my mind quickly tracked back in time to about 30 years ago. There I was, an nine year old boy, hurriedly pushing the grocery cart up and down the aisles of another local grocery store, trying to keep up with grandma as she meticulously eliminated items from her shopping list, one by one. The trip this day was a lot more slower paced and grandma, herself, pushed the cart as she leaned upon it for support. Instead of a buggy full of groceries, she had just a few items to cover the next few days. And, in a spirit of transparency, perhaps I should have come back from my memory a little sooner; perhaps then I would've been able to keep Grandma from running into that other shopper. Oops!

So, what am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? I'm thankful for another opportunity to go grocery shopping with my grandmother! (I know, who would've thought that the guy who hates everything to do with shopping would say that). Yet, at much as my thanks is related to this shopping experience, it's really about so much more. You see, my grandmother is truly my spiritual hero. She's the one, along with my grandfather, who showed me what it meant to live in relationship with Jesus and who subsequently introduced me to him. It was she who invested in me, day after day, month after month, and year after year. It was her persistent prayers that caused this rebellious teenager to turn his heart back toward Jesus. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.

At 93 and counting, I don't know how many more Thanksgiving holidays my grandmother will get to celebrate this side of eternity. But I'm thankful she'll get to celebrate this one; and I'm even more thankful that I'll get to celebrate it with her.

Who are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Be sure you let them know!

Humbled and thankful,
Barry