Thanksgiving means...

For many of us, it means the comforts of life that we experience.
We look around our thanksgiving table and we are thankful for our family and friends who surround our table...
We are thankful for being able to worship God...
We have many things that we are thankful for...but what if...

you didn't live in a safe home and were fearful of what adults in your family would do to you when they would come home high?
you didn't go to school because you were fearful of what would happen to you?
you didn't have positive friends to influence you?
your grandparents were raising you because your parents died when you were 6 because of drugs?
you were addicted to alcohol/drugs...at the age of 15?
you didn't have a family who wanted you?
you didn't have food to eat regularly?

And then, what if you were placed somewhere that you were free to:
feel safe
feel love
know that people loved you
you were able to go to school
you were able to to eat meals...with people who were encouraging you...
you were able to hear about God in this place you were placed...

Today we went to Boys Town Thanksgiving Service and we listened to students speak of what had changed in their lives since they came here. They spoke of the situations that they came from and it was moving.

God directed Father Flanagan years ago to begin a place called Boys Town to help youth in trouble! It is still a place that helps youth who are lost and searching for truth, love, and an environment to allow them to grow in a safe place and learn of God.

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? I am humbled by the abundant life that God has given me...and thankful that my daughter and her husband have introduced me to Boys Town. I am thankful for the girls that live in their home. I am thankful for the loving family that He has given me...

So...what are you thankful for?