Penny Nance: The things on my list for which I am most thankful

Penny Nance, CEO and President, Concerned Women for America (Courtesy CWFA)

As Thanksgiving looms large, I am honored to share my list of things for which I am the most thankful. 

As a Christian, I am reminded in I Thessalonians 5:16, “for in everything give thanks.” In other words, to have a heart of gratitude that rises above the circumstances of any particular day. 

I do better with this at some times more than others.  It’s easy to get caught in the grind of life: traffic, chores, work, even sickness and to forget to count my blessings.

When operating from a sense of thanksgiving versus entitlement, it’s possible to observe the world from a completely different perspective. 

When operating from a sense of thanksgiving versus entitlement, it’s possible to observe the world from a completely different perspective.

I was reminded of this recently while sitting in traffic, which I, like most people, loath.  In this instance, instead of stressing, I was calmly looking at the leaves around me. Without thinking, I uttered a prayer of Thanksgiving to God for being such an amazing artist and creating from nothing the incredible palate of autumnal colors. 

How many times had I driven by that spot and never noticed God’s creation? 

I’m a work in progress.

There are things, however, for which I am incredibly grateful and for which I strive to thank God everyday. 

First my faith: I am a sinner in desperate need of God’s grace and mercy every day.  Redemption through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and, most importantly, His resurrection is the most important and intimate gift anyone can ever give me.  I embrace it with my whole heart and am working to show that same grace to others.  I just sang the old hymn in church last week summing up my faith, “Because He lives I can face tomorrow.”

Secondly, I am thankful for my family.  In my new book, "Feisty and Feminine," which will be published in April, I share the circumstances around my becoming a mom for the first time.

Despite spending years as a pro-family, pro-life lobbyist, I was terrified about having kids. 

Being married to my husband and being a mom to my kids is an incredible honor.  I was unprepared for the depth of richness and meaning they have given my life. 

My very capacity for love was changed by my family.  Marriage and motherhood require personal sacrifice, but oh how sweet and rewarding is the fruit. 

I sometimes tell my kids, “I can’t believe that God chose to bless me with you.  I could never do anything to deserve such an honor, but I’m doing my best to be worthy of you.”

I really mean that.  Bit it doesn’t mean we don’t ever struggle.

I am incredibly grateful for Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America's (CWFA) Chairman and Founder, and the fearless women who are our volunteer grassroots members. They have no agenda other than protecting their families and their nation.

These selfless women tirelessly strive to protect the “least of these” by speaking truth in media, state legislatures, and in Congress. 

I am honored to labor alongside them for liberty in this magnificent nation and around the world.

I am grateful for our men and women who serve in our military and for their families.  Their sacrifice for my freedom can never be repaid, but they have my undying gratitude and CWA’s support.

Finally, I am thankful that I was born in our great nation.  I was reminded just today of the oppression of women around the world. 

I find it staggering that the women in China are supposed to be thankful that their government will magnanimously “allow” them to give birth to two children instead of one. 

Women in the Middle East are sentenced to a life of isolation  by extreme Muslim regimes. 

Women around the world are being raped, murdered, and enslaved by Islamic jihadists like those in ISIS and Al Qaeda. 

We are so blessed to be born in the greatest nation on earth.

This Thanksgiving, I will join with my friends and family to celebrate these and other blessings, but most importantly, I will strive to faithfully embrace an attitude of gratefulness year round.