It was almost exactly five years ago. Just before Thanksgiving, a Friday morning, shortly after 5:00 AM - I was awakened by a shout from our kitchen, "OH, NO!" A moment later, the cry came again, "OH, NO!" Christie had gotten up, gone in to start the coffee, and discovered we were flooded. A hose leading to our washing machine had burst during the night and water was gushing out. For the next hour and a half we were bailing out our house, then later watched as a crew moved in, hoisted furniture, pulled up most of the carpeting, and started fans going to dry everything out. Whoopee. Our Thanksgiving celebration that year had a certain pall over it.

That is not a unique story. There are many times when it is tough to be thankful. Everyone of us has gone through the deep waters of life often…