I forgot I signed up for the Thanksgiving message. Yesterday I took the day off. I checked my email once. It was glorious. As a result this is a bit late, but thankful none-the-less.

There are lots of things for me to be thankful for. I have a great family which includes a beautiful wife and two wonderfully creative and fun kids. I have amazing friends - both inside and outside of the church. This year we even had two turkey dinners (one we were invited to and another we invited people to share with us). Thanksgiving has been a good chance to remember all the blessings that have been poured onto my life. Even the kitchen sink that decided to stop draining properly.

Often when we have problems like the sink, problems that refuse to be resolved by my best efforts (draino - crystals and gel; I even tried to snake it out), I feel so frustrated that I'm unable to rest or work. I am aware of this so I was paying attention to my responses yesterday. I stayed up late the night before trying to unblock the sink (even the dishwasher is full of water because it will not drain) so the next day when Sharon woke up to water on the floor I had to go borrow my mother-in-laws snake before she drove to work. Once up, I was up for the day. However, I wasn't finding this situation frustrating, at least not in the way I know I can let frustration overwhelm me.

It is interesting to me that Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, here I have been offered a chance to reflect on my own character. I can get pretty down on myself, but that isn't healthy reflection. Reflection is an opportunity to elevate the good, the praiseworthy, even the excellent. As I reflected on my inadequate plumbing efforts I have been thankful that I was not letting it spoil my much needed day of rest. Broken sinks are opportunities - not to display your mad handyman skills (of which mine are suspect at times) - but to rest a little deeper into God, to trust that "this too shall pass", but more than just pass, that this is another opportunity to let the good work of Christ in you bear fruit: the fruit of patience, kindness, gentleness, even love. Blocked drains are opportunities to reflect on ourselves, to see what good works God is doing in us - and to be thankful.

I am thankful that a plumber will be here soon.

Frank Emanuel - Ontario Region