[borrowed legacies]

Someone once told me we're all living on a borrowed legacy. That we are not the creators of our lots in life but simply recipients. It hit and humbled me.

And this time of year, people are posting all over the internet things they are thankful for. Family. Friends. Jobs. Food. Time. Things. Pets - the list goes on. Yet while there are many things I could list tonight, the day after Thanksgiving, I'll pick just one instead. I am thankful for the borrowed legacy I live on.

For generations of family that made faith the core of all things in life. For deep family values rooted in me since birth. For opportunities every day to learn about perseverance, hard work, community and team work on the family farm that was started over 150 years ago. For financial providence to meet basic needs and luxuries. And most of all, for faith in God made possible because of a Jesus that died for all nations, for I, too, am a Gentile. A Jesus that came and lived and died and rose so that we may know our Creater and be made right with Him.

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for a lot of things. But most of all, I am thankful for the borrowed legacy I live on every day. That I am only who I am because of all the people who have gone before me and live around me every day. And that this, more than anything else during the holiday times, is most important. Not gifts or food or gatherings or songs or millions of cards and cookies. But a deep gratitude for all I have. And a deep gratitude for all I can pass on and give this Christmas and coming year.