Do you need help finding something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving? This story by guest blogger Scott Newport may give the encouragement you need.

The Thanksgiving Tree

It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Michigan. The weather is cool. The sky is 
blue.

I am standing at the picture window, looking out at our front yard. And 
there it is-the small tree Penni and I planted three years ago. A few
 wilted leaves hang on, but soon they will be blown off. It’s just a matter 
of time.

The Day She Brought the Thanksgiving Tree Home

I remember the day Penni brought the tree home. As she pulled up in the 
driveway, I saw a big grin on her face. She got out of the car, producing 
the scraggly runt of a tree. She’d found it in a dumpster behind our local 
garden center. The tree’s leaves were wilted, Its roots were crowded, and 
the pot it was in was so very dry.

Being an optimist, I began to smile. “We will bury it in good soil,
 fertilize it, and water it every day,” I said. “We can save this tree.” Penni agreed. We decided to plant our little tree right in the center of our
 front yard for everyone to see.

 Penni and I prepared the soil, lowered the tree into the ground, covered its 
roots with dirt, and watered it.

Big Dreams for Our Thanksgiving Tree

As we worked, we talked about how 
beautiful our tree would be someday. We dreamed about the shade it would 
provide for our house once it was big and tall. We imagined hanging a rope
 swing from its limbs. Lofting a tree house in its branches. We had big 
dreams for this little tree.

In the fall of that year, I decided to prune some of the branches to give it
a great start for next spring. To be honest, our tree looked pretty sorry.
 As neighbors walked by, they’d see our tree and chuckle. “Why bother with
 that poor tree?”

And I’d ask myself, “Why am I such an optimist? Why am I trying to save this 
tree?”

 Thinking back to my early years, I remember playing basketball. I went to a 
small school and we had a terrible athletic program. In the years I went to
 school there, we never-not once-won a game.

Not basketball.
Not football.
Not baseball.
Nothing.

But I remember playing each and every game until the end as though we were
 going to win. Some of the guys would give up as they realized we we’d lose,
but I never did. As we’d walk off the court and I’d look up at the 
scoreboard, I was always surprised to learn that it wasn’t even a close 
game. 

I still don’t know why I’m like this but I think it’s a good characteristic.

Not Looking Great

Getting back to the tree, in the years since we planted our tree, it still
 does not look great. But I like that tree. I mean, it could have given up.
 Or I could have given up. But we didn’t. Maybe someday that tree will be big 
and beautiful and the people passing by will admire it.

But even if that
 doesn’t happen, it’s okay because there is much more to life than meets the
 eye. It’s called hope. I like to hope. It’s kinda what keeps me going and I 
think that’s a good thing also.

Hope and the Thanksgiving Tree

My son Evan is 22 months old. When he was born, the doctors told us that he 
might not make it. They said, “He’s not perfect. He has a lot of medical
 problems.” After 252 days in the hospital, Penni and I brought him home. We
 look at Evan and we see potential. We take him and love him and care for 
him-just like our little tree.

People look at Evan and you can see the look in their eyes-it’s the same 
look they give the tree. But we put Evan right out there in front and show 
him off. We have hope that someday he will be big and strong just like the 
tree. But even if that doesn’t happen, it’s okay because life is full of 
imperfect things.

If we give up, we lose. But if we hope, if we try to
 overcome.
If we say, “We can do it,” that’s when we win.

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