Why is it that we sometimes don't realize how much we really have until we see how little others have?

Jarod here...First of all, I want to say I have had an amazing Thanksgiving and oddly enough, I didn't eat so much that I felt like hibernating this year. Nonetheless, the food was amazing (thanks Mom) as usual and the company even that much better.

For most of us, Thanksgiving involves a little football, some nice long naps, having some good laughs with our family and yes, a lot of food. But, so many times I think we forget the reason behind the season. Well, I was reminded again this year of how much I have to be thankful for. I titled the entry to this post what it is because it is so true in my life and I think if we were all honest, many others would say the same. Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to meet some amazing people...people who aren't quite as fortunate as many of you reading this journal entry. I have had the chance to sit down and talk with these fascinating people and to learn just a little about their lives. One lady I spoke with had recently lost almost everyone in her immediate family in a matter of the past few months. Many others had been let go from their jobs and are struggling just to provide food for their family. One couple mentioned to me they had been sleeping on the floor for the past several months because they can't afford a bed and the list could go on and on.

If there is one thing I don't understand in life, it is the question of why some people seem to be so much more blessed or "favored" than others. No doubt, we have all made bad decisions and mistakes that we wish we could take back and those decisions can and do have a major impact on our lives. But, why do some have so much more than others and did they really work that much harder to get all they have...or where they just dealt a better hand in life? One thing I do know is that I am one of those people who have been very blessed. I have been blessed with an amazing family that loves me, a beautiful wife that could have only stepped right out of a dream, a pantry full of food, closet full of clothes, warm sheets to sleep in, nice car to drive, friends who would do anything for me and a job that pays the bills. I am not saying any of this to brag because truth be told, I don't deserve any of this. I have done nothing more to deserve the things I have any more than the man standing on the corner asking for some food money. I can't credit myself for anything I have but, I can credit the big Man upstairs for everything I have. He has provided for me from the start and I know He will never stop.

One of the main reasons that Sarah and I have decided to join the Peace Corps is because of the things you see written above. Like I said, I don't know why I have been so fortunate to have such a good life. But, I know that it is the least that we can do to spend 2 years of our lives trying to help others that haven't been as fortunate as us.

Yesterday on Thanksgiving day, one of the businesses in our home town of Alma hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate in the community. Sarah and I volunteered to help and were able to serve food to those who came in to eat. There was one man in particular who came in to eat, pulled up a chair at the far end of the tent 20 seats away from anyone else and quietly began to eat his Thanksgiving dinner. After a little encouragement from Sarah who said something like, "Jarod, go sit down with and talk to that man who is by himself", I grabbed a big fluffy role and made my way to the end of the tent to sit with this man.

The next few seconds involved me getting a few weird stares as to why I was sitting there followed by the words from this man "I am not a social person". This didn't slow me down a bit. I proceeded to tell him my name and then ironically started up a long conversation with this "unsocial" man named Travis. Travis wasn't the most clean cut looking man. He was in his late 40's or early 50's and had a scraggly beard, was missing a few teeth and was wearing a t-shirt in the somewhat cold 45 degree weather. However, little did I know that just by lending an ear I would get a fairly detailed narration of his life. I soon found out that Travis had no family to spend Thanksgiving with...no parents, kids or a wife. He was divorced around a year ago after some not so good incidents occurred and said he would never marry again. I continued to listen to his life story all the while thinking to myself, man I have it good.

After Travis finished eating, I told him I wanted to send some take home food with him and boxed it all up for him. He asked for a sack to put it in because he rode his bike there and couldn't carry the food on the bike. Well, sadly enough, we could not find a sack so I told him we could just throw his bike in the back of my Dad's truck and I would take him and his food home. After I put his bike in the back of the truck, Travis went on and on about how nice of a truck it was and that he didn't want to mess it up by having his bike in the back. He said that I could just follow him home with the food so that he wouldn't mess up the truck. Finally, after some brief arguing about what a truck bed liner is for, I convinced him to get in the truck and let me take him, his bike and food home. Travis only lived around 300 yards away in a tiny house that couldn't have been more than 500 sq feet and looked as if it were abandoned years ago. But after the short ride home, he was so thankful for my help. He told me that I could come by anytime I wanted and just talk with him. Travis is a good man who has just made some bad decisions and caught some bad breaks. Who hasn't made some bad decisions?

I can't tell you how much of a reality check Thanksgiving day was for me. Just when I think I may have it bad or I need just one more thing to make me happy, I meet someone like Travis. Isn't it interesting how the unfortunate lives of others remind us of how blessed we are?  And, isn't it sad that so many times it takes something like that to remind us?  I hope that everyone who reads this entry will step back and take a moment to realize how fortunate they are...regardless of how much or little they have. I can assure you there are many, many others with much, much less. Let us not forget to give thanks in everything.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.   James 1:17