Cord Byrd: “next week, Americans across our great land will be celebrating one of our oldest and most beloved holidays…”

“next week, Americans across our great land will be celebrating one of our oldest and most beloved holidays, Thanksgiving. What a great and glorious holiday this is--a truly and uniquely American holiday. It is a day for giving thanks. A day devoted to family, to country, and to God. A day of eating turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, dressing, and pumpkin pie. It is a day of parades, football games, and the beginning of the Christmas holiday season. It is a day of family gatherings. Unfortunately, in too many homes this year, and as in the past 5 years, there will be too many empty seats at the dinner table. I hope everyone listening will join me in praying for our sons and daughters who are in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan, in praying for the eternal salvation of those who have died in these costly conflicts, and in praying for the speedy recovery of those who have been wounded. While we cannot hope to fill those empty chairs, we can hope that our prayers and our love and support will help to ease the sorrow at those tables. Even with the turmoil of the past year and with so many of our sons and daughters in faraway lands, we still have so much for which to be thankful.”