In the Name of God: The Infinitely Merciful and Compassionate Beloved Lord

On November 9, I was blessed to run in the annual Hot Chocolate 5K run in Chicago. It is a fun, relaxed race that takes you through the heart of Downtown Chicago, and my wife, daughter, and I ran the race in honor of our Angel, who passed away in 2009 from cancer. Thanks be to God, I finished the race (the 5K one…not the 15K), and I thoroughly enjoyed the hot chocolate waiting for me at the end of the race.

And throughout the race – and reflecting afterwards – I could not help but be grateful.

I was grateful to have the day off from work, so I could enjoy running a fun 5K with my wife and daughter. I was grateful to even have a job, something which many fellow Americans still do not have. I was grateful to God to be given the strength to run in the first place, as there are so many others who are afflicted with physical impairments that would make running such a race, even as short as a 5K, nearly impossible.

I was grateful for the great city of Chicago through which I ran, with all of its wonderful people, and architecture, and culture, and activities. I was grateful for such a fun day in the city after the race, hanging out with my sister and her family who live not that far from the finish line. I was grateful for the safety I felt running through the city, because such safety – as too many know far too well – is something that is not always had in many cities in our world today. Such safety, in fact, is elusive in the very same city of Chicago, not that far away from where the race was run.

I was grateful for the plenty with which I have been blessed by God, so that I could spend the money for the entrance fee into the race. Although our economy is much better, there are still so many people who still struggle to make ends meet each and every day. Indeed, my left knee began to hurt not that far into the race, but I was grateful not to have suffered a more severe injury, one that could have landed me in the hospital or on an operating table.

I was – and still am – grateful for the wonderful memories of that day, and the fun I had running with my wife and daughter in the city of Chicago, which I love so dearly. There were a number of Syrian-Americans who were running that day, raising both money and awareness for the terrible tragedy in that country. That made me grateful that our country – although afflicted by forces that seek to tear it apart – is not in the midst of a civil war like that of Syria; grateful that our government – although far from perfect – is not bombing us in our cities like the horrific government of Syria does to its own people each and every day.

I could go on and on about all the things for which I am grateful, simply by reflecting over running a 5K race on a cold, autumn day in Chicago, IL.

There is so much tragedy in our world, and there are so many that suffer terrible things each and every day. I pray for them, that their suffering is relieved, and that they are given a better day soon. Yet, as we all gather together and commemorate Thanksgiving, let us all go through such an exercise: to take one event in our lives and reflect over the things surrounding that event for which we are grateful.

I pray that such an exercise will make us increase our gratitude toward our Beloved, Who has blessed us with so much which we take for granted. And I pray that such gratitude will increase us in righteousness and perhaps motivate us further to help those who are in need. For that is the true fruit of gratitude.

May you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. Amen.