RIGHT OF CENTER: FOR THANKSGIVING: A HEARTFELT FAMILY PRAYER

There is no better time of year to celebrate Thanksgiving than during the most enjoyable season of the year.

The holiday has lost some of its historical ties to agriculture and the fall harvest. But what better time to reflect on the year -- its triumphs and disappointments -- than in poignant autumn?

The season is rich in memories, such as high school gladiators clashing on the gridiron. The state championship game is played Thanksgiving weekend, and I fondly recall as a youngster bracing myself against the frigid cold to watch the Stockton Blackhawks play in state championships in 1975, 1977 and 1978.

The season evokes images of men in orange, trudging across a field of knee-high corn stalks toward a draw of cattails, where pheasant and quail awaited their burst into clamorous flight -- and the thunderous salute of poised shotguns.

The sky looks different in late autumn. The clouds that months before threatened rain look different now. The year's first "Looks like it could snow" is heard at the coffee shop. Despite complaints and protestations of some, I happen to know that everyone loves that first fall snow -- not a light dusting, but the all-night snow that covers the earth with a blanket of sparkling beauty.

In the fall sky fly lonely flocks of geese headed away from the cold dark night of winter that is fast approaching.

The green that was replaced by orange, red and yellow only a month before, now is a dull brown as nature slips into its reviving dormancy. Autumn is a time of new beginnings.

What better time to assess the year past and give thanks for the blessings that always outweigh the hardships and frustrations, regardless of their number? Like many families, the Eastlicks' Thanksgiving Day dinner began with everyone at the table giving thanks for at least one such blessing.

When the tradition started, there were six of us, and the process was relatively brief. As in-laws, nephews and nieces were added to the mix, our prayers became drawn out. With turkey, ham, stuffing and sweet potato pie as a distraction, I found myself more and more thanking God for good food and for the hands that prepared it.

This year, I passed on the tradition in my own household. After Levi, Elisha and Sadee were seated around the table with me and Loree -- who this year was eating for No. 4 -- we each chose one or two things to give thanks for.

Since I wasn't able to go to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with Mom and Dad and the rest of the crew, I decided to include my prayer in this column, which will be sent north.

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Father God,

Thank you for life, and for parents who brought me into your wonderful creation, nurtured me in a home filled with love and who have become in my adulthood my most loyal friends.

Thank you for three siblings who forever make me proud to be their little brother and for their spouses, who long ago earned my respect and love.

Thank you for a healthy body and sound mind that enables me to make a living and earn a wage.

Thank you for your blessings on our nation, the freest and most prosperous land in the world.

Thank you for placing me in a community where people are friendly and care for one another; for the many people who have befriended Loree and me -- our extended family at church, my fellow rugby players, co-workers and others whose lives have so enriched ours.

Thank you for my children, who bring me unspeakable joy. Give me the grace to rear them in a way that brings You glory.

Thank you for my wife, who is the most faithful, loving friend and helpmate a man could have.

Most of all, thank you for sending your son to die for an undeserving sinner like me, and for your unconditional love and the grace that continues to bring blessings to a man who too often takes them for granted.

Amen.

~Jay Eastlick is the news editor of the Southeast Missourian.