TheRaceForGrace.com

Dear Friends of Grace,
How could I not acknowledge this day to give thanks? 
While David and I felt it necessary to cancel our Thanksgiving company coming to our home due to a rough patch with Grace, we are still looking forward to spending the day celebrating with “just us” that is, the seven Reddingtons. 
Amidst the chaos and heartaches of life with Grace and the struggles and suffering that continues to plague her, we are, as you know,  thankful for her life.  I am constantly mindful and grateful for the times when I don’t have to hold her helplessly in my arms while she wails in pain that I cannot alleviate.  If I’m not doing that, anything and everything else is “cake,” so the saying goes.
I was thankful today that she slept peacefully for 45 minutes in her crib, a rare occurrence but much needed in order to prepare for tomorrow’s modest feast.
All this talk of Thanksgiving makes us or should make us think of the pilgrims and why they were thankful.  They survived a harsh winter, lost less lives than the year before and learned more about survival in a new country.  Let’s not forget who they were thankful to.  Thanksgiving, although not labeled as a religious holiday, is truly a day set apart to be thankful to God. 
Back in “pilgrim times”, there may have been dissention about how to practice their faith, but there seemed to be no dispute about whether or not to actually have faith as we are constantly bombarded with issues of taking God out of this and that in our world.
There is a movie called The Golden Compass being released December 7th - predicted to be a blockbuster.  It was written by Philip Pulman a renowned atheist and hater of all that is of God.  The movie is based on his first book in a trilogy called The Dark Materials in which the final book concludes with the children actually killing God so they can do as they please.  As if God hasn’t been assaulted enough in our world… and now we have a movie like this.  To many people in the world, the concept of God is an inconvenience.  It reminds us of things we should and shouldn’t do and who needs to feel guilty when everyone just wants to feel good?  So, like the movie, just kill God and get Him out of the way so you can do as you please without limits.  Imagine a world like that.  However, I have no doubts that no matter how bad things get, good will triumph over evil.  It always has since the beginning of time. 
As I pondered so many thoughts on this day before Thanksgiving I realized for us Reddingtons, it’s all about Grace and the grace we need to live our lives with her.  As long as Grace is at peace, things like messy bathrooms, burnt turkeys, lost keys, fussy babies, bad hairdos, endless days and traffic jams are trivial.  She has grounded us with appreciation for just being.  I don’t need Thanksgiving Day to remind me to thank God for the gifts I have been given, but the world does.  If there’s anything the world needs more of today, it’s faith in goodness and in God.  My sweet Gracie continues to inspire me and continues to uplift those around her to hope, pray and persevere through the darkness of our times. 
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  Don’t forget to say…grace before your meal like the pilgrims did. 
 
-Tara & Family