11.01.26
A Tribute to our Veterans and the Thanksgiving Season
November has always felt like a month that asks us to slow down and look a little deeper. Is it the way the air shifts, or how the leaves fall with a kind of quiet dignity? Or because this month carries two powerful reminders: the courage of our veterans and the blessing of Thanksgiving.
This morning, as I watched the sunlight stretch across my living room floor, I thought about my husband (a Vietnam Veteran) and the countless individuals who have carried this nation on their backs. Veterans don’t just serve; they sacrifice. They give pieces of themselves the world may never see, and they do it with a strength that humbles you.
Detroit taught me early that courage isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s the quiet kind that wakes up before dawn and keeps going when the world feels heavy, the kind that chooses service over comfort. Veterans know that courage intimately.
Honoring Veterans with Heart and Truth
When I think of our veterans, I think of resilience. The stories they carry — some spoken, many held close. I think of the families who stood behind them, praying through deployments, waiting through uncertainty, loving through distance. I think of the veterans who came home and continued serving in quieter ways, like mentoring young people, building communities, showing us what integrity looks like in real time. This month, I honor my husband who was 19 years old when he was deployed to Vietnam, and every veteran who stood a post, carried a burden, or protected a stranger. I honor the ones who came home changed, the ones who didn’t come home at all, and the ones still fighting battles we cannot see.
From Courage to Gratitude
As November moves forward, we arrive at Thanksgiving — a holiday that invites us to gather, breathe, and remember what truly matters. Gratitude is its own kind of courage. It asks us to look at our lives honestly — the good, the hard, the unexpected — and still say, “Thank You.”
Thanksgiving — A Table Full of Grace
This year, I’m grateful for the kind of blessings that don’t always make headlines:
-quiet mornings
-meals shared with people we love, laughter that shows up even after long seasons
-the strength God gives us to keep going
I’m grateful for my family — my husband’s resilience, the stories that shaped us, the faith that carried us through storms we never saw coming.
I’m grateful for you — my readers, listeners, and community. You show up with open hearts, ready to grow, to heal and ready to hope again. You remind me that storytelling is ministry.
A Prayer for November
As we move through this month, let the spirit of gratitude for the those who during those difficult seasons in life “cleared the brush for you,” inspire you to clear the brush for others. During this season of giving thanks, fill your home with warmth, your heart with peace, and your spirit with hope that rises — even in the seasons that feel uncertain.
https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs