Cookouts, Pool Openings, and the Indy 500

(Memorial Day Weekend in Indy – a Time of Gratefulness!)

What do cookouts, pool openings, and the Indianapolis 500 all have in common?  Two things:  Memorial Day Weekend.

I am most grateful for Memorial Day Weekend because I often find myself reflecting on the values I hold most dear – values that guide my heart and passion in much I do.

God

I am most grateful for God, specifically a personal relationship I have with Jesus Christ.  I’m certainly not perfect.  I am a sinner in need of a Savior, and I just happen to believe that Savior to be the Creator – one far greater than I am.  I am forever grateful.  If it weren’t for him, I believe my purpose in life, my faith, and my hope, would be completely different.  I would also likely be most miserable.

Family

I am grateful for a loving wife who has been very supportive and patient with me over 29-years of marriage.  I am also grateful for the times when she didn’t express patience, but instead, was willing to get “in my face”, instead of letting me head in the wrong direction and make a decision we both might have regretted for years to come.

I am grateful for kids.  While they do present challenges and struggles to any parent, they bring some of the greatest joys in life.  They provided me one-on-one opportunities to guide, instruct, and provide for them, as well as to live vicariously through them.  I am grateful for grandkids.  This is the time in life you get to relax, sit back, and watch life turn full circles.

Friends

Of course, living in Indy has provided countless opportunities to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway right before Memorial Day, and to enjoy the Indianapolis 500.  I am grateful to have been able to spend many Memorial Day Weekends introducing friends to their first 500.

Country

We all should be grateful for our Country and the freedom we still enjoy.  I am most grateful for those who serve, or have served, in any branch of the military – especially for those who have given their lives for our freedom.  We should never stop thanking and showing them respect.

Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend!