Thankful today

10:50 p.m. Today's project was to welcome my family members to our Thanksgiving dinner.Some came early and came back later, my dad came over by 10:30 a.m., and enjoyed a pretty full afternoon, even as he left by 3:30; we met our youngest son Steven's girlfriend Kathy, who drove down from Bakersfield; and Steve stayed relatively level, even though he needed a lot of help with dressing.

The morning started oddly, because my cell phone was on silent mode, so when it went off at 6 a.m., I never heard it. But the Lord opened my eyes at 6:41, because He knew I needed the rest. When I checked in on Steve, he was just awakening, so we got his supplements into him, and then he went back to bed while I showered and put on a t-shirt from a Wales mission trip and my Heather's old dance practice sweat pants from King High School.

The day was on!

I helped Steve dress, got his devotions started, and then took the turkey out of the refrigerator, rinsed and patted it dry. Then I sat down to my devotions, with sporadic interruptions from Steve, but we prayed together prior to his eating various portions of his breakfast.Meanwhile, our bodybuilder son Steven made his huge breakfast, helped me put the stuffed turkey into the Reynolds cooking bag, and went to the gym with a friend.

The things I had feared--not cooking the turkey long enough, dinner too late for my dad to return home in the daylight, Kathy not making it on time--were totally allayed by the Lord. Not one part of our meal was out of place, and everyone arrived safely. We had a great dinner!

Later, Heidi and Pavel came over and shared in the plenteous desserts, along with Nick and Heather and his sister Amy. Then the kids all went to see the new "Muppet Movie" while Steve rested from the noise that had him burying his head in his hands, and I cleaned up, hand washing the crystal and china. This was our annual tradition with one exception: Steve is no longer able to help, but God has given me "power, love, and a sound mind"  (2 Timothy 1:7) and plenty of energy at age 60.

We did have some different touches this year--no gold plated tableware, because Steve and Heidi are the ones who always knew how to return the items to their correct slots, not to mention their help with the extra hand washing. Now he can't do it, and she wasn't home. With a small group, I had enough regular daily silverware to cover, thank you, Lord. I used an old, delicate tablecloth with the matching napkins, instead of the large ones that take a lot of folding. And I planned for Steve to sit between my dad and me for help as needed.

The fact that God is with me in these small details of one annual holiday, as well as with the huge trials I experience, I realize that even with the tragedy of losing my husband to Alzheimer's, I have much to be thankful for: healthy children and grandsons; everyone employed; a new grand baby on the way; the ability to buy the drugs Steve's needs for now; a home to live in; care for Steve when I can't do it; ministry; and my business.

Only the Lord could put all of these life-portions together, and only God can make my life work in ways that glorify Him!