So here we are again, the great ingathering of the harvest festival, Thanksgiving. Most of all we major in gratitude this time of year and that’s good. To major in gratitude is to recall a list of all the things that matter. I know you’ve got one. But while you wait for yours to upload, try on mine on for size:

Time moves more quickly the longer you live • Relationships are more important than programs • Our grandest accomplishments are often small in scope • Leadership is most effective when it is shared with others • Many of the most important things come as gifts • Our lives are fragile, hanging by slender threads • Good friendships endure • Every day is a test of what we really believe • Faith unattended can dry up • Life is beautiful • Life is terrifying • God is good • It is more important to be kind than right • What I want is not necessarily what God wants • There are things worth our sacrifices • Simple pleasures are best • You can never run from yourself • You seldom know the full impact of your life on others • When you lose a parent, you lose part of the past • When you lose a child, you lose part of the future • Singing is good for the soul, even when it’s bad • Every space is a holy place, but some are more holy than others • Being compassionate is always important, especially when you don’t feel like it • Many things come in their own time • You can’t hurry the heart • Whenever you begin judging another, consider your own failings • Forgive now, don’t wait until tomorrow • Sharing the suffering of others helps to heal your own • Find islands of silence • Pray when you don’t feel like it until you do • Abandon pride and embrace humility • Imagine what others do not yet see • Learn at least one new thing every day • Read another book • Remember to say thank you • Don’t forfeit your life for the sake of possessions • Find the wonderful in others and tell them about it • Soak up beauty and become like it • Do a good job because life is too precious to be squandered • Tell the truth • Don’t assume the majority has it right • Love and serve all, but pay attention to the wise • Know the difference between prevailing opinion and values that are lasting • Treat animals kindly • Gaze at the stars and feel wonder • Grieve every loss and learn from them • Trust others until you have reason not to • Defend the helpless • Be courageous in the face of evil • Always view violence as a last resort • Periodically fast from the electronic world • Trust that the future belongs to God • Dare to contemplate the beginning and end of life • Enjoy helping others succeed • Realize you are not the first to face the struggles you are • Don’t run from suffering • Accept that you will never know enough • Let your doubt be as sincere as your believing • There is nothing new under the sun and nothing stays the same • Love the Lord your God with all your being and your neighbor as yourself