As this year swiftly comes to an end and Thanksgiving is upon us, we all should take this time to reflect and be thankful.

There will always be times we lose sight of the goal of Giving Thanks With a Grateful Heart. It is something which can be very hard to do at times with all that is going on in our world today.

A lot of people look back on their year and say what have I got to be thankful for. First thing is that you are vertical. This year has been a rough year for many families of our racing community. But I am thankful for all that God has done in our lives. Sometimes you say to yourself why me, but why not. God has a plan for each of us. The sucky part is that we don’t know what it is. We just need to continue to forge forward and he will direct our path. Trust and faith are sometimes very hard to have when times are bad. One of the first things I am thankful for is that my husband is no longer in pain. I have a roof over my head, able to put food on the table, a job, and have a lot of true friends in my life. People I don’t even know have reached out and offered to help with chores and anything else I need. These are gifts from God. Give thanks.

I was cutting the lawn the last cut of the year and it was cold but it needed to be done. I was about half way through a five-hour task and the neighbor from down the street drove by and stopped. He told me to get off the tractor that he would finish. Myself being the strong-willed person that I am said “no, it ok, I can finish”. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer and finished the lawn. I still had the trimming to do, but it really helped with completing the task in a timely fashion. It’s these gestures that I give thanks for. This is something that John or myself would do, we are the ones that offer the help, not the other way around. When you are the giver it is very hard to let anyone give to you and even harder to ask. But people are good and want to help, so next time someone stops by and offers help, let them, for it is helping them as much as it is helping you.

You see the phrase it’s better to give than receive is really true. It doesn’t need to be a physical gift you give, but a gift of time. That’s unless you have grandchildren that know that when the grandparents come to visit will always have something for them.

You sometimes don’t even know you are being blessed and take it for granted. You just finished up your season of racing and you are healthy, safe and in one piece. God has blessed you and taken care of you all year long. Pay attention to all the little and big things in your life that God has taken care of and be thankful of all.

Obstacles in our life are put there sometimes as a test to see how we overcome them. If we ask God for help and direction, he will be there. God is always teaching us to trust in him no matter what the circumstances are.

So this year, when you sit down at the turkey table, think of all the blessing you have to be thankful for and enjoy. And don’t forget when desert comes around to have a cup of Artisan Coffee to go with that pumpkin pie.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving. -Dottie D