Man, this year has flown by.

Since November is a time when we should all be thankful, I decided to do a story on what I am thankful for. Let me start by saying I am thankful to the good Lord for waking me up this morning and for having some walking around.

We all have trials and tribulations in our lives, and I’ve had my share of them. Those who know me have heard me say this before: there are typically three things that affect me, and probably affect you as well; in no particular order those three things are finances, romances (relationships) and health. These past several years have been tough on many people and these three things can put a world of hurt on us if we are not careful. I always have to reflect and ask myself how is my job going? How are my relationships with my partner or relatives or society as a whole? How is my health? (Including not only physical health but mental health.)

There have been times in my life when I was not employable or had no money, therefore, not even a bank account. I thought, How in the world am I going to be able to do this or do that? However, the good Lord has a way of always showing up. One example of that was during the downturn of a 2008 real estate market. I was flat broke with five children and a wife. The father of four of those children quit paying child support and, to be honest, if it wasn’t for my family and friends in church I would’ve been living under a bridge somewhere.

Pride and ego sometimes keep us from asking for help. We all know that shame and guilt go along with pride and ego. Back to the story. I was on my way to being evicted out of our home that we were living in at the time. I go to our mailbox and sure enough I received a check in the mail. I had worked for General Electric here in Murfreesboro back in the day and for some reason I received a check for dividends of some stock I had in the GE company. It was the answer of prayers I’d prayed to stay afloat, to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.

Mr. Murfreesboro with Experience Community pastor Corey Trimble

There have been other times in my life when I didn’t know how much money I had because I have generally done well in sales, including real estate, insurance, cars and security systems. I’ve usually had a good job and done well because of the good Lord giving me the gift of gab. So during those times I was very thankful for having a job and being able to pay bills and live life the way the good Lord intended!

Romances, and relationships, can be summed up in the idea the good Lord wants us not only to be in a relationship with Him, but he wants us to also have relationships with each other. We were not meant to be alone; at least I know that I am not supposed to be alone. We are to have a partner to walk the road of life with. We are to have people in our lives to help guide us and have our backs.

Bill Wilson and Meredith Thomas

I’ve been blessed with many relationships along the way. Someone said it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it took an army to raise me. What I’ve come to realize is I’m still growing up at the age of 56. You can ask anybody who is close to me. It’s not easy. I’ve had general managers say “that Bill Wilson is one heck of a salesman, but keeping up with him is like herding cats. He just can’t do it.” So today I am so thankful for all the teachers, family members, attorneys, police officers, preachers, therapists, authority figures, and especially my partner, Meredith Thomas, and my son, William Wilson, for keeping me on my toes and helping me stay honest with myself. I have found that life is not about me, it’s about serving others.

Kelsie Williams, Sarah Callender and Mr. Murfreesboro

The last thing I’d like to mention that affects us all, whether we like it or not, is health. How is your health? Remember not only your physical health but your mental health also. With COVID at large the last two-plus years, society as a whole has been hurting from something we had not seen in our lifetimes. It shook us individually and collectively, physically and mentally, and we’ve all been hurting from it. I personally have known several people who died from COVID. I assure you, COVID didn’t care if people were liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, black, white, man, woman, gay or straight.

Remember, faith without works is dead. I am thankful most of all for the good Lord’s grace and mercy he has shown me because I should’ve been rotten and forgotten a long time ago.

Did I mention how thankful I am to live in a city where I get to live where I want, eat where I want, hang out with whom I want, drive down the road if I want, fly where I want, go to school where I want, worship where I want, bank where I want, get my car worked on where I want, buy a new car when I want, go to the doctor or dentist where I want, to pay a speeding ticket to help pay for the roads . . . you get the picture.

We all have so much to be thankful for, so now instead of me talking or writing about it let’s all be grateful! Let us all go thank somebody today!