Being Thankful

We've all seen the posts from our Facebook friends all month about what they are thankful for, and while I think it's wonderful to be thankful (I try to make it a part of my daily life) I heard something the other day that just stopped me in my tracks. Those of you who know my husband know how easygoing he is. He pretty much has a good time no matter where he is or what's going on. He's definitely a "glass half full" kind of guy. So when our pastor asked him to drive the van on Wednesday nights to pick up kids for church, he agreed but immediately began to make jokes about it. Not being disrespectful in any way, he always leaves home by announcing, "I'm going to drive the Jesus bus!" And since the custom is to pull up in the kids' driveway and honk the horn, he always follows it up with, "You know me, honkin' for Jesus!" It never fails to make me giggle, and the Bible says we are supposed to be joyful, right?
Anyway, since taking on the assignment, he has had the chance to observe and overhear some of the interactions between the kids in the van. It broke my heart the night he told me about one teenager whose situation was so bad that he asked to be taken home last, just to avoid being there for a little while longer. I have always wanted our home to be a safe, happy place for my kids. To think that this kid would rather be anywhere but at home was just so sad to me.
After hearing about the teenage kid, I thought surely there wasn't something worse, until my husband came home the next week and repeated the following conversation.
Little boy: Do you know my name?
Little girl: Yes.
Little boy: Do you know my Daddy's name?
Little girl: No, I don't know it.
Little boy: My Daddy's name is John. What's your Daddy's name?
Little girl: I don't know my Daddy's name. I don't know who he is.
Little boy: What's your Mommy's name?
Little girl: I just call her "Mommy." I don't get to see her very much, so I still just call her "Mommy."
Wow. If that doesn't make you stop and think, I don't know what will. Has it ever occurred to you to be thankful that you know who your father is? I know it certainly hadn't occurred to me until I heard about this.
As parents, heck just as people, we are all imperfect by definition. My parents weren't perfect, because they were people. But they were there, a constant in my life every single day until my mother died. It never occurred to me as a kid that I should be thankful that I knew who they were.
The point of my post is this: while you are being thankful for all of the elaborate blessings in your life (barrel horses, promotions at work, etc) don't forget to be thankful for the most basic of blessings: imperfect parents like me who loved you enough to be involved in your life.