In the great tradition of Thanksgiving testimonies, every blogger and their mom’s mom will post the top things for which they are thankful. Though I wanted to follow suit, I thought I would post on those things for which I am NOT thankful.For all of these eight things I’m not a bit thankfulbut I should beand that’s why I write them.I want to publicly testify to those things for which I am not thankful, those things in my life I take for granted each sunrise with nary a thought to life on the other side of the fence.So today is Thanksgiving, a day I am reminded of all the things I am not thankful for, but should be. Here they are, in no particular order:

consumerism, thanksgiving

1.) My Clothes

I have a damn fine closet. Well, actually I have two…and both are full of clothes! I own 7 suites, 32 dress shirts, 12 dress pants, 7 jeans, 7 casual pants, 3 tubs of sweaters with something like 21 sweaters total, 12 pairs of shoes, 45+ casual shirts, 5 coats, 25 ties, and more T-Shirts than I care to count. I’m out of breath from counting!I have Abercrombie, Puma, Banana Republic, Gap, Brooks Brothers, United Colors of Beneton, etc, etc, etc. And I am not thankful for a bit of it. What’s more: I want more! When so many people barely have a percentage of this, I cry because I’m bored with what I have and seek out more. How sick. I have all I need and more…Yet, I am not thankful for my clothes.

2.) My Job(s)

In a state with the highest unemployment (7.9%) and highest foreclosure rates in the nation, I have a job. Actually, I have two jobs: one that pays really well and another that doesn’t but thats a blast to work. And just yesterday I was bemoaning the fact that I was sitting in a chair entering data and then had to go make drinks for crabby under-caffinated people. Well boo, hoo me! I am provided for through work and these jobs are supporting a calling for which God has placed on my life…Yet, I am not thankful for my job(s).

3.) Water

Billions of people do not have clean drinking water. A gypsy village in Romania I visited over 2 years ago has no source of water in their village and they must walk nearly 2 miles to get water from a river, and that country is now apart of the EU! I just took a hot shower for 10 minutes. I could turn on a faucet and instantly find hot water to simply stand under for 10 minutes because I ached from my day. Incredible! I have clean water and hot water in ample supply…Yet, I am not thankful for water.

4.) My Family

My parents are so great that they have given up the empty nest so I could live with them and save money while I go to school, even paying for the electricity, water, gas, and food I use. But this is only a small representation of everything they have sacrificed for and given to me. Throughout my life they sacrificed so much for me, they helped me understand how to live and modeled devotion to each other and to God…Yet, I am not thankful for my family.

5.) My Church

Folks, I live in the most Churched area in the world. No literally, it’s a record: a street in a nearby town holds the Guinness Book of World record for the most churches on one street. It’s insane! There are more churches then gas stations. No, seriously!And I find a wonderful church with great people and a stellar pastor, a place in which I can invest and a place that will invest in me, yet I consume from other churches in the area like a buffet. Well, only one in particular on occasion, but the point being I am not devoted to the community in which I feel God has drawn me. AND AND AND: There are so many people who do not have the privilege of worshiping freely and openly, instead they either have no options or are forced underground…Yet, I am not thankful for my church.

6.) Living

If you’ve read me over the last 2 weeks you know that I nearly died. Well, maybe thats being a little over dramatic, but I could have been in a very serious car accident that could have ended very badly. That single 8 second moment and the absolute SAFETY that surrounded me in that experience helped me realize that I do not value life and living. I just really don’t think about it all that much, the fact that I am alive and breathing and speaking and moving and thinking and creating just never enters my mind.People die every day for no reason and from things which are simply horrendous. But by in large I move through life unscathed…Yet, I am not thankful for living.

7.) My Health

This summer I worked for the Medical Director of a health plan provider. In that position I had a chance to see the charts and cases of people with severe medical problems. These cases spanned age, race, gender, and class without discrimination. Aside from developing a slight case of hypochondrias I realized how lucky I have been throughout my life to not have suffered in these ways. I have never dealt with health problems…Yet, I am not thankful for my health.

8.) The Cross

Truth be told: I abuse the Cross. I have forsaken my First Love. I do things and continue in patterns because I know I’m forgiven and “Christ has paid it all” as the old Hymn goes. I am called to live a life worthy of the new Life I have been called into, but often I live a life that flys in the face of the Cross.Through the event of the Cross I find peace with God and my relationship has been restored with my Creator; I am now in relationship with God and yet I really do not consider the weight and implications of what that means. Through the event of the Cross my sins are forgiveness; Jesus was truly the final blood-sacrifice for all the world and in that broken body and shed blood the debt I owed was paid by Him. Through the event of the Cross my brokenness is restored and I find Life. Despite what I gain through Christ…I am not thankful for the Cross.Here are just a few things for which I am not thankful, and I hope this day changes that. How about anyone else? Is there anything you’re not thankful for that you’d like to share?