The funny thing

about this week is, no matter how much or how little is going on in the

world, I don't have to wrack my brain for an idea about what to put in

this space. I probably won't have enough space anyway, but here goes.

I am thankful

for the opportunity to live my entire life (so far) in the United States

of America. Enough said there.

I am thankful

that, like everything else in my life, my national origin was not an accident

or some fluke of evolution. I don't have to wonder about my life being

hopelessly out of control; I know that nothing is left to chance, that

there's no such thing as luck, because I know that Someone is watching

and looking after every single aspect of my daily existence.

I am thankful

for two teenage girls, whose names I don't remember, who took some time

on a Saturday afternoon in 1973 to walk through the apartment complex

in Memphis where a six-year-old boy and his family lived, and asked my

brother and me if we would like to ride the church bus. The eternal destiny

of our entire family was eventually secured because those folks cared

about our souls. I am also thankful that an almost identical episode took

place here in Georgia at about the same time, and the family affected

there included the woman I would eventually marry.

I am thankful

that the merciful hand of an almighty God led my family to this area when

I was a teenager, and that I would eventually be able to make my home

here as an adult.

I am thankful

for the Pinecrest Baptist Church in Morrow, a way station on the weekly

road of our otherwise stressful lives where our family receives love,

compassion, and the things we need from God to get through each week.

I am thankful for the people there, my dearest friends, who care about

me and pray for me every week.

I am thankful

for my place of employment, where I can come each day to a pleasant environment

and spend the necessary hours to make my living with people I can also

call my friends.

I am thankful

for the opportunity to be a husband and a father, the most awesome responsibilities

of my life and the two most important jobs I will ever undertake, as well

as the primary reasons I leave the house in the morning and the best reasons

I look forward to coming home every night.

I am thankful

for Kelly, whom I had the good sense to ask to be my wife before someone

else snatched her away. She takes better care of me than I deserve and

looks after me more than she should have to much of the time. She is living

proof that people do not meet in this world by accident, because I have

no doubt that the Lord sent her to me.

I am thankful

for Samuel, who facial expression each afternoon when he sees his daddy

cannot be described with words. I pray every day that I have the strength

and the wisdom to give him the kind of guidance my own father gave me.

I am thankful

for my parents and my in-laws, who continue to set a wonderful example

for their children as well as their grandson. I am thankful that they

all live less than 20 minutes away. Sometimes it seems too easy, because

I know I can pick up the phone whenever I need any of them to help me

with a problem, however large or small.

I am thankful

for the time I have spent with my little brother, whose name my son now

carries. He was my best friend for most of my adult life until he was

unexpectedly taken to Heaven in July of 1997. I am even more thankful

that I will see him again someday.

I am thankful

that, for everything that has come into my life which I might consider

tragic or catastrophic, I know that the Lord has kept such things from

me many more times than I deserve. Only eternity will tell how thorough

His protection over me and my family has been through the years.

And I am thankful

in advance for whatever is coming down the road. Although I don't know

what tomorrow holds, I know for certain Who holds tomorrow. My prayer

this holiday season is that each and every one of you finds the same peace

that I have.

[Monroe Roark

can be reached at [email protected] .]