Jonathon Morris, U.S. Ranger, Ret. and Rowan County Sheep Baron
♦ As a Bible believing Christian, I do not wait until Thanksgiving to count the bounty that God has blessed me and my family with on a daily basis. In fact, when Steve Mensing suggested that I consider writing a Thanksgiving column, my first reaction was to bristle at the idea of a single day of Thanksgiving.
I would have to say first, that I thank God for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose teachings and grace provide purpose and guidance to this disabled veteran and my family. God is good, no matter what struggles we must endure. The promise of salvation, and the grace of our Lord sustains me through the rough times, and gives me joy in the best times.
I am thankful for my wife, Leondra. She is my soulmate, my caregiver, and by anyone’s assessment who knows us, my better half. Her petite and demure countenance, which is readily apparent to all, masks the amazing strength that her faith and her intellect have brought her. She is a ‘prayer warrior’ to in-laws, friends, neighbors, and other people at the church, who know they can turn to her for spiritual reassurance when times are rough. Despite many struggles that she herself has encountered this year, including the loss of her own father, she remains a beacon of faith ans strength for me and others. She is truly a Proverbs 31 wife, and for anyone who hasn’t read that passage, it describes my lovely wife to a tee. I have full confidence in her, and as scripture assures me, with this remarkable women in my life, I will never lack anything of value. Ever.
I am thankful for my four children, and for the grandchildren who are making our ‘golden years’ more gilded than either of us had expected. They are the apples of our eyes, and there are times when the grandkids leave after a visit, when my eyes tear up. I know they will make their parents proud, and I pray a prayer of thanksgiving for my son-in-law, Marcos. Christine chose a wonderful man of deep faith in the Lord, who provides for his family and sets a fine example as father to all three of our daughter’s children, even the two who were born before she met him. I could not ask for a better man to have come into our family, and feel that God has richly blessed us with Marcos
I thank God that despite my disabilities, I was once able-bodied enough to fight in the U.S. Army for my country, against tyranny in the Middle East. There were times when, as I lugged an 80 pound backpack, weapons and ammo through 120 degree heat and felt exhausted, that my faith in God, and the knowledge that Leondra was at home praying for my safe return, sustained me. When I can find time to go to Thelma’s on a Tuesday morning and gather with other brave men and women who have fought for our freedoms—many who are recent returns—I am reassured that my sacrifice was ‘worth it’, even though I detest having that question asked of me by those who do not understand what it means to have served and sacrificedI thank God for my mother, who is a longterm cancer survivor, and I thank God that she has lived to see her great-grandchildren. I also thank God for my mother-in-law, who has also survived many a struggle in her life, and is a wonderful great-grandmother for our grandchildren. Mothers-in-law often get about as much respect as Rodney Dangerfield. But for me and my wife, we both have been richly blessed.
I thank God for the upcoming Christmas season, and pray that each of you reflect on why we celebrate it, as you peruse the ‘Black Friday’ adds and fight traffic and long lines this season. I receive a great pleasure watching my grandchildren’s eyes twinkle when they see the decorations, the multi-color lights, and Saint Nicholas. Christmas in the eyes of my grandkids brings back the joys of Christmases in my own childhood. I cherish those memories, beginning each season with going out with our father to find just the right tree in the wild to cut fresh, and take home to trim, as Mom baked the first batch of Christmas cookies and we all pitched in to decorate the tree. I rejoice as I watch my children form their own Christmas rituals with the grandkids. It warms my soul to know that someday, they’ll be reading this column after I’m long gone, and will recount their own traditions.
I thank God that my family and I live in a rural area where we do not have to fear being stabbed and robbed when going out to the mail box, or walking the dog. I pray that those who live in more urbanized area get the safety and security they deserve, and that the elected leaders who leave their population unprotected will be replaced with more forward-thinking leaders who can focus on more than their own bloated egos. I pray that elected officials at all levels of government will remember that the Lord despises a hauty look and feet that scurry to mischief, and that they recall the purposes for which they were elected
>I am thankful, and pray vigilantly for those who have chosen to serve in our Armed Forces, to fight for freedom, and against absolute Evil (yes, capital “E”) against our enemies. I know the pain of spending Christmas and other holidays away from family, but know that we are grateful. I pray that God touches you and that your faith will sustain you.
And finally I pray for all veterans, that God may give each of us a purpose, and enable each of us to experience fulfilling daily lives. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
