“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing.” These words from an old hymn express exactly why we have Thanksgiving. We gather with family or friends, or even alone to thank God for the blessings of the past year.
In days like we are seeing these last couple of years, you may be asking “What on earth is there for which to be thankful?” We can tell you straight that there is plenty.
We are thankful that we live in a country where we are still free. We are free to speak our minds. We are free to vote as we please. We are free to worship as we please. Certainly, there is the argument that some of these freedoms have been or are being threatened. But, still, we do live in the greatest country in the world.
We are thankful for our families and our friends. We have lost so many in the last couple of years. All the more reason to be thankful for those we continue to have with us. Even with those gone, we are thankful for the sweet blessing of memories of times gone by.
We are thankful for the world around us. The sky. The earth. The trees. The sun. The stars. The list is endless. All of these are gifts from the Creator for us. We need to be mindful of these blessings and appreciate them each day.
We are thankful for this great state of Texas! The best there is! Texas pride runs deep and for good reason. What other state is there that you can drive all. day. long. and never leave the state? There are mountains and canyons. There are lakes and rivers. There are beaches and plains. There are wide-open spaces. There are big cities, if that is your thing. There is Friday night lights, that lead to Tuesday and Friday nights in the gym for basketball. There are rabid college fans. Pro football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. There are amazing sunsets and glorious sunrises. It gets no better this side of heaven.
We are thankful for this wonderful community. We are family here. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. When one of us rejoices, we all rejoice. Sure, there are those that want to complain about Brownfield. Well, learn this, if you are looking for something about which to complain, you will always find something. But, if you are looking for something for which you can be proud and enjoy, you will always find that too. We have truly great people. We have truly great businesses. We are doing fine right here. As one of our local businesswomen likes to say, “Bravo Brownfield!”
We are thankful for our great agriculture community. We grow so many crops here, many times under tough conditions. We grow cotton, peanuts, grain sorghum, wheat, hemp, sunflowers, guar, cattle, and certainly not to forget our new little brother that is bringing such notoriety to the area – grapes! The vineyards make such a beautiful sight. Planted on the low rolling hills (such as we have), they just make a wonderful backdrop to our views. And the wines produced with our local grapes continue to be award winning, on an international scale! Yes, we are thankful for our grape growers.
We are so thankful this year for the bountiful cotton crop. Oh my goodness! The fields were just so white and gorgeous. And to see the strippers and pickers moving through the fields, and the land dotted with colorful modules or round bales. We would just drive around and do the math on what that piece of ground was producing. So thankful. So very thankful.
We are thankful for our county schools – Brownfield, Meadow and Wellman-Union. All these continue to earn honors and recognition from across the state. We consistently send kids to state level competitions from the classroom to the basketball court. BISD is looking at opening up one of the finest new high schools in the state, with programs that will benefit even adults with adult education planned for the evenings in the CTE wing. Definitely something for which to be thankful in all our schools.
We are thankful for our churches. We have so many churches in Terry County, and so many that continue to do very well, even after all we have been through in the last couple of years. Numbers are coming up as people are recognizing the importance of having that church family and gathering with God’s people each week. No, our churches are not perfect, but we are not perfect people. The thing for which to be grateful is that you are welcome to any of these churches, no matter what your background might be. So thankful for our churches and our church families.
This list could go on and on, but the most important thing for which we have to be thankful this year is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God sent His Son. His only Son to die on a cross for us. Each one of us, as sinful as we are. He died for all of us and He died for each of us. All we have to do is accept His free gift of forgiveness and salvation and we will be His eternally. Yes! We are so thankful for our Savior and our God.
So, do you still think you don’t have anything for which to be thankful? There is always something for which to be thankful.
“I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
