Seeing how we are just a few days away from Thanksgiving, how many churches all across America do you suppose had services today based on "giving thanks"?  Our church was no exception.  The message our pastor gave though was not the usual, "Make sure you are thankful year-round, and not just at Thanksgiving..." that you'd expect to hear.   Our scripture reading was 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Of course, it was exactly what I needed to hear right now.  Give thanks in all circumstances? At a time like this, why should my family be thankful?  But we are.

We are thankful for the outpouring of love and support that we've been blessed with. Family, friends, strangers....all people who knew my dad or know this family just reaching out with sympathy, kind words, offers of prayer, company, and food. We are humbled, but not surprised that my dad had an impact on so many lives.

We are thankful for modern medicine, for the doctors and nurses who are already so overworked. They did such a great job making sure my dad's final days were as comfortable as possible. We are thankful that he was able to be surrounded by family at the end, knowing so many people have not been so lucky these last couple years.

We are thankful that just four weeks ago we were able to get family pictures taken together. It's been something we've been talking about doing for a long time. Way before we even knew my dad was sick. But after hearing what he was going through, we knew we needed to get it done now. At the time, we had no idea just how close we were cutting it. These pictures are now priceless to us. We are so, so grateful to have them.

More than anything, we are thankful for my dad. I've been spending the last couple of days going through photo albums with my family, reliving the memories. I've also been struggling to write his obituary. And I say struggling because how do you summarize someone's life in just a few paragraphs? If you knew my dad, he was probably one of the quietest people you knew, but he had such a huge impact on so many people. It's impossible to put that into words. Mom helped me finalize the obituary tonight. The final statement she wanted to add is the most impactful. It describes my dad perfectly.  Simple. Not long on words. But a perfect description of who my dad was: "He loved us well."

And for his love, we are thankful.

The family will receive friends on Tuesday, November 30^th from 5-7pm at Heafey Hoffmann Dworak Cutler - West Center Chapel (7805 W Center Road).  Funeral service on Wednesday, December 1^st at 10:30am, West Hills Church, 3015 S. 82^nd Ave. Interment, Calvary Cemetery.  Memorials suggested to Josie Harper Hospice House, Sokol Camp Association, or West Hills Church.