My walk across America is a lesson in gratitude and giving thanks

It has been getting acold these days connected my Walk Across America. We started successful New York City connected September 1 successful the vigor and humidity and I’m present loving this crisp, chill aerial arsenic I locomotion done the North Carolina countryside. At night, the Carolina entity is truthful wide that you tin spot the stars, which I seldom spot successful my Chicago South Side neighborhood. Most of all, I’m loving this clip of the twelvemonth due to the fact that it means Thanksgiving. 

Walking down the Drewry-Virginia Line Road, I came upon the oldest family-run store successful North Carolina, Buchanan’s Store. It’s been unfastened since 1878 and 1 tin lone wonderment astir the benignant of radical that person travel done its doors, from Confederate veterans to small aged me. 

There were beauteous flowers retired beforehand and Thanksgiving decorations everywhere. Most of all, radical determination were saccharine to us. I sat connected its beforehand steps with my drink, taking a interruption from my walk, and it deed maine hard astir however overmuch I person to beryllium thankful for this year. 

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Back location successful Chicago, I person seen the occurrence of the assemblage halfway — thing I person dreamt of for implicit 10 years — starting to beryllium built. Seeing those tractors excavation retired the dirt, seeing those beams spell in, the cement poured, it has been truthful agelong since determination has been operation for affirmative alteration successful that country and I admit I cried respective times. I americium thankful to each the donors and supporters who kept believing and made this possible. I americium thankful to everyone who has been moving to physique this halfway done vigor and cold. 

Pastor Corey Brooks astatine Project H.O.O.D. connected Chicago's South Side. I americium thankful to everyone who has been moving to physique this halfway done vigor and cold.   (Project H.O.O.D.)

To each American who has met maine connected this locomotion connected the municipality streets, backmost roads, state roads, beforehand porches, and religion steps, I accidental it from the bottommost of my heart: convey you. Thank you for the chromatic buns, the sandwiches, the home-cooked meals, and for benignant donations that mundane Americans slipped us. You person fed me, housed me, prayed with me, and lifted my spirits erstwhile I was down. Because of you, our children volition cognize a amended life.

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Thank you to this beauteous federation of ours. She is truthful analyzable astatine times, and she is acold from perfect, but she is ne'er finished, and she allows america to constitute our futures. I americium thankful for this federation that allows adjacent a flawed antheral similar myself to find a mode to service his community. I emotion this federation that says due to the fact that things are the mode they are that doesn’t mean they person to enactment that way. She makes the powerfulness of alteration imaginable wrong america and I anticipation to ne'er betray that gift. 

Above all, I convey God for guiding maine successful this life. He knew the roads earlier I took the archetypal step. He has travel up successful astir each speech I’ve had connected this journey. 

As I ticker the trucks spell by connected this state road, I americium afloat of acknowledgment for the ineffable grounds I person walked these past days — churches, humanities sites, aged enslaved trails, battlefields. Every mile has taught maine the aforesaid Thanksgiving truth: those who came earlier america and those who built the paths we locomotion today, it is those women and men that indispensable beryllium thanked. It is our crook connected this earth, and we indispensable physique upon what they built truthful that determination whitethorn beryllium a agleam future.

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A portion of maine is ever bittersweet astatine this clip of the year. I person held acold excessively galore funerals astatine my religion for the young boys and girls chopped down by unit earlier they adjacent had a accidental astatine life. Thanksgiving is often the hardest vacation for their families due to the fact that it is past that they recognize their loved ones won’t beryllium astatine the table. I commune for those departed souls and I springiness acknowledgment to them for the beingness they brought to america successful their abbreviated clip connected earth. I convey them for teaching america to cherish life. 

Above all, I convey God for guiding maine successful this life. He knew the roads earlier I took the archetypal step. He has travel up successful astir each speech I’ve had connected this journey. Not 1 item has escaped His notice. 

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My gratitude is heavy for Him guiding maine successful this beingness due to the fact that if He tin usher a antheral similar maine this far, He tin usher immoderate of america home.

The travel continues. The committedness endures. The anticipation remains strong. And my acknowledgment to each of you comes from my heart.

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