Two words said often – and not often enough

President George Washington dedicated a day in November as a “Day of Thanksgiving to God” in remembrance of the Pilgrims’ special meal following their first successful harvest in 1621. The Pilgrims invited the neighboring Native Americans to the banquet as a thank you for their help with planting and harvesting. I think the Pilgrims really were thanking the Indians for not carving the Pilgrims themselves for dinner.

What seriously is going through my mind on this Thanksgiving is how grateful I am to God. I thank Him for the blessings He has bestowed on me – the ones I am aware of and especially all the blessings I have no clue He’s given me.

Each night, I thank Him for Nikolas; my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins; my ancestors now residing in our Lord’s heavenly kingdom; the people who at one time were very special to me but are no longer with me daily, along with their children, parents and families; the men and women who have thought of me, helped me, hugged me, made me laugh, and prayed for me along the way, and still do; the people who have given their lives or are risking their lives so I can live peacefully and comfortably; and the critters who welcome me at the door, purr in my ear while I’m sleeping and leave their fur on my clothes.

I especially thank the Lord for the woman making antler horns behind my head in the picture above. That is my significant-other, my partner, my roommate, my “main squeeze”, my soul mate and my best friend Amy Morales.

In 2005 when situations made me question what I should do and where I should be, the Lord told me very plainly “Scott, I need you in Arizona.” I felt He needed me to minister to someone or lead someone who was lost to Him. I didn’t know who or how.

Two years later, a woman in my Bible study group asked me to join her for lunch after church. Amy and I go to a church that is 99.975 percent populated by people age 70 and above. Amy and I are St. Luke’s Episcopal Church’s Generation X.

Amy’s husband, Joe, died suddenly a little more than a week before I got the job offer that pulled to me out of Indiana. “Ah ha! That’s why the Lord wants me in Arizona – to be a friend to Amy as she enters a new chapter in her life,” I thought.

Not so fast, my friend!

My professional relationships with the people I worked with and for severely broke down in 2008 and we unceremoniously parted ways in 2009. Between July 2005 and February 2009, my nine-year marriage and my 20-year career came to shattering ends.

And Amy was there to catch me.

The Lord is my eternal savior. The woman making fun behind me in that picture is my savior on Earth. What Amy has done for me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually I will never be able to repay.

I take more from her than I give. I do not deserve her, and yet she loves me.

Thank You, Lord.

Thank You, Sweet.