In case you didn't notice, there was an election this week. A couple of people got elected to city council and others didn't, and some constitutional amendments passed.  It was pretty ho-hum as far as elections go, which would explain the turnout, or lack thereof.  What is interesting is the way elections, unless they are those big ones every four years, are just part of the background noise of our lives, even if we are as a society totally dependent on such things happening smoothly. The same can be said for the dining halls on campus; they are there, they open, we are fed, no big deal.  Unless they are not open, as has happened with the Commons Dining Hall this semester due to a rat infestation of biblical proportions.  Then we notice the inconvenience, the limits, and our dependence.  And, because I am a chaplain and this is the sort of thing you are expecting from me, I'll point out that the presence and blessing of God can seem like so much background noise, something you count on even if you don't think about it for a second.  And indeed, this is one of the wonders of God, that despite our inattention and even indifference, blessings still flow; we are fed, we know love and life and the joy of friends and family and so much more.  You don't have to say thanks for it, not today, not Thanksgiving Day, not ever.  But something amazing does happen when we can utter that first word of thanks; we begin to see that it is not just a drop of blessings here and there that we are given.  They come in showers, deluges, floods, all around us and for us.  And that is when Thanksgiving becomes not just a day on the calendar, but a way of life.  I invite you to join us to explore that way of life; it begins with Christ, who has elected to save us despite ourselves and to love us beyond what we could ever earn.  To say thanks is good; to know the thankful life we are offered is the greatest gift of all.  In thanks for each of you...  Pastor Jaime