The obligatory quasi-thanksgiving post

So, it's Thanksgiving. This is the time when family from all over the country and for some the world (not me, but some people I'm sure) get together and pretend to be close for the sake of a dead bird and some rolls. Did that sound hateful to anyone besides me? Digression stops now...

So, I'm in Florida visiting my mother. To be honest, I was not initially excited about the prospect of spending several days in the Sunshine State. It has nothing to do with being around my mother (no hidden stories there), it was more so the lack of most of the rest of my family. I mean, both sisters declined to come for different reasons, and as far as I knew it would be me, my mom, and a bunch of people from her church. That meant there would be a lot of, "oh you're Leslie's son- you look just like her," and "what do you do" statements and questions that would get annoying after a while. Why? Because the answers to the questions of what I'm doing are difficult at best. By most standards I am not doing much right now. Especially not in comparison to the rest of my family. I have one sister faithfully serving her country in the Navy, having just finished her first tour of duty on board the USS Ronald Reagan, one sister who is a successful Personal Assistant to the CEO and project manager for one of the best creative services firms in the world with several very well known and world renowned clients, one brother who is a director of development for a museum in Connecticut, and one brother who no one seems to be able to track down. In all, I sometimes feel black sheepish.

The irony of that is the fact that I was always looked at as if I would be the breakout kid from the family. It was never questioned that I'd be successful (whatever that actually means), speaking in front of many and starting something sure to stand the test of time. But, instead I find myself working at a restaurant, selling entertainment services, and still not sure what I want to do with my life at 27 years old. Some might call it a desert, I just call it life right now.

So, where is grace in the midst of this? Grace is in its pursuit . That sounds cyclical and confusing, I know- let me explain. These past several years have taught me to appreciate the smaller things and ways God chooses to smile on me and to not always look for the most exorbitant expressions of God's favor or His grace. A beautiful day is proof that God is still on the throne, rain while driving with my top down is proof that God still has a sense of humor, and the girl God has placed in my life is a sure sign that we do so often get what we don't deserve. Though I am still very much in pursuit of purpose, the fact that I have the wherewithal to be in that pursuit is a regular expression of God's grace, strength, and joy to me. I have no idea what tomorrow holds for me, or what I'll do 5 weeks from now, but somehow that is strangely liberating. It gives me the ability to really grab ahold of the scripture that tells me to not worry about tomorrow because it will take care of itself. And though sometimes it doesn't seem as if tomorrow is taking care of itself there is still the peace in seeing God's faithfulness when I think it shouldn't be there. It is very easy to get lost in the idea that success is measured by status and what we do, but the ability to see God's hand at work is more a sign of success than any accolade I could achieve or any career path I could follow because it hopefully means that others are being touched along the way, and that is ultimately what it's all about.

Happy Thanksgiving folks. I hope that made sense to people besides me.