Solid Ground: Canadian Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving Sunday here in Canada. It's a day that has interesting roots. The very first Thanksgiving in Canada, according the the historians at Wikipedia, was in 1578 during the search for the Northwest Passage. Martin Frobisher and crew had a very difficult time of it what with the ice and the storms that they encountered. They lost ships and building material and often got scattered, one boat from another, but somehow the 'miraculously' made landing on Baffin Island together. They gave glory to God in Thanksgiving for their "miraculous deliverance in those so dangerous places."

I don't think there is a person alive who, every now and then in their lives, gives thanks for just getting through, for surviving. I also think that every single person know what it is to feel awe at the miracle of just getting through another day, another month, another year. Life, a fact they did not tell us as children, is hard. Adulthood is hard. Responsibility is hard. Accountability is hard. It's all hard. It's wonderful. It's exhausting. It's trying. It's exhilarating. It's fun. It's all those things, but mostly, it's hard.

So many times in the last few years I've been thankful for just getting through and getting by. In those moments of thankfulness I always think of those who have helped me. Those I know. Those I don't know. I'm always thankful that there are those who've had helping hands, or helpful ideas, or helpful suggestions. I'm glad that I have strong people about me. I'm grateful that I have wise people about me. I'm especially in awe of the fact that I have people about me who challenge me to do better and to be better.

I will never know what those sailors felt when their feet touched solid ground. I can't imagine the joy in their heart as they celebrated what would become Canada's first thanksgiving.

But I do know what it feels when I reach the shore at the end of another week and what it feels like to climb onto solid ground. And I, like the sailors, am grateful.

Here's to being thankful for solid ground.

Here's to a year of finding more, on the journey through the passageways of our lives.