Every year, as I celebrate my birthday, I also practice thanksgiving for my many blessings. What am I thankful for?
I am thankful that when I was at my lowest moment in college, a peer aggressively challenged my lifestyle and what it meant to be a Christian. Their tactics were, perhaps, judgmental. But they did what was required to awaken me.
I am thankful for the youth pastor at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, who challenged me to start attending a local church. Combined with the experience above, my life went in a different direction. Willow Creek Community Church nudged me into Christian community.
I am thankful for August 19, 2005, and for God’s providence in having me run into Sarah. It turned out to be one of the most pivotal days of my life. We married on June 30, 2007.
I am thankful for my parents, sisters, grandparents, and extended family. In many ways, I hit the jackpot on everything — except maybe hair genes.
I am thankful for all the school administrators who failed to call me back in 2007 and 2008, or flat-out told me that I was not good enough to teach at their school. This put a fire in my belly that has not diminished over time. It gifted me the constant reminder that Mondays are “Thank-God-I-have-a-job” days and that work is both dignified and a blessing. Their “no” led me to reconsider my “no” to other options, which turned into the best “yes” of my working life.
I am thankful for the opportunity my dad gave me to come work at Hoffer Plastics in 2008. I am thankful that I spent the first four weeks on the production floor, became lifelong friends with two guys out there, and then spent the rest of the year doing front office jobs that were, quite frankly, gritty, boring, and still necessary. I look at those jobs and the people doing those jobs, and I have a strong appreciation for the work being done.
I am thankful for all the people I get to work with at our company, our customers, and our suppliers. I meet so many interesting people across the globe. In fact, had you told me in 2008 what a global job this is, I wouldn’t have believed you. I am so thankful for this, as it has grown me in all ways.
I am thankful for my three kids. They have grown me in ways that I cannot adequately count here. I love them fully. I am thankful that I get to write the birthday letters to them, as that has become a fun tradition.
I am thankful for my local church and my community there. I have been reminded of it during the past month as I have walked through some tough times with people on our team at Hoffer Plastics.
I am thankful for another year of life. I am thankful that I am in my mid-forties.
I am thankful for today.