Stuart R. Crawford

Today is the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday and this day always gets me up before everyone in the house to think about all the things in life that I am thankful for.  The list grows every year and even though I may not mention some people or a group, it doesn’t mean that I am not thankful for things that you have done, things that we work on together, or the simple and effective impact that you or you all have had on me.

Thanksgiving is a time for family and that to me is the number of thing that I am grateful for.  You see I almost lost my family a few years back because I did some stupid and bonehead things.  Hey we are all guys and sometimes we just do dumb things.  I have done my share trust me.  I am so grateful that my entire family has given me another opportunity to be a Dad and a husband.  This I will be forever grateful and very thankful.

Also the people of Christ that have come into my life.  Some I would never have suspected to be truly faith driven.  I really appreciate your openness and guidance towards the only real force in the universe that matters.  Sure some people my not understand, maybe they haven’t had the opportunity to experience some of the things in life that I have yet and their time is going.   The enemy knocks on the door everyday, do you decide to answer it or just let it knock.

Thanks to my great friends Erick, Brad and Arlin.  We have this new guy fellowship thing happening.  I haven’t been much of a contributor just yet and I know that my time will come when I do contribute.  Right now, I am just being a sponge and soaking in all the wisdom that many of you have to share with me.  It is truly awesome to have friends like you all that truly care about all of us and it does show.

Arlin, thank you for the morning emails.  I know to you that they are like this blog.  Something to get your thoughts of the day out to the world.  This blog, I couldn’t care if anyone ever read it, however I am truly appreciative of the 100 or so people that check these ramblings out on a daily basis.  Arlin, thank you for your inspiration and community leadership.  Also, thank you for the summer event in Harlan it was the highlight of our year so far.

Thank you to the entire team at IT Matters. The last few weeks have been tough, I know that.  However, we are strong and we will survive.  We have in the past and we have been even stronger coming out of a bit of a hit like we recently had with people departures.  We have a great company and awesome leadership under Rob.  This guy is the person that we need steering the ship.  Are we willing to row in unison towards our common goals?

Life is truly awesome and I am very thankful for everyone who is in my life and I am also extremely thankful for those that are no longer in my life.  Some of you I wish would come back and say hi and some people I learned what I did and it is time to move forward, however I have forgiven you for all the wrong doings and most importantly I have forgiven myself for the wrong doings I have done towards many people in my life.  Now, I am at peace and ready to thrust ahead with Christ leading the way and a great group of people to support me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

OK, it is not the first game of the year for my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs that was the other night when they stomped the Detroit Red Wings.  Tonight is the home opener at the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto.

I am watching the game as they are announcing the lineup for this year’s squad when number 31 Curtis Joseph being the first Leaf out.

Also tonight, CBC announced the new these song for Hockey Night in Canada, so we say goodbye to Canada’s second national anthem, this is a song that I grow up with for the past several years.  I don’t know when they first announced it but it has been around for as long as I remember.

Something happened with a new prospect today that has never happened to me before in a new client meeting. Today our firm was grilled about our financial health. This is a first time for me and you know what, I am confident it has to do with the financial crisis. The DOW is down 40% from it’s high a year ago.

Keep in mind, those that loved you a week ago still love you today. It is only money. I just heard that on CNBC.

OK, so back to this client meeting. I am used to talking to clients about their health and now it is two-way! Not surprised.

Our company is financially healthy, so I have nothing to worry about.

I heard this week that the one IT company in Calgary is bitten the biscuit. I also heard that it is not a financial markets issue but the challenges related to a breakdown of a marriage.

Are you prepared when your clients ask you about your financial health?

This email arrived in my inbox today from a very good friend of mine, some way this friend has a very special knack of knowing what is happening in my life and those around me.  This is what happens when you are surrounded by like minded people.

There comes a point in your life when you realize
who matters,
who never did,
who won’t anymore…
and who always will.
So, don’t worry about people from your past,
there’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.

I am sure you heard the old line “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”. I am starting to see the importance of this line in life.

There are many things out there in the world that are out there to knock you down, maybe interfere with what you do, perhaps malicious intentions. It just happens in life.

How important is forgiveness? When I was reading The Shack by William P. Young, they save the best for last. Forgiveness but never forget. We simply must learn to forgive or we will never grow and we start to die.

How does that big gorilla feel on your back? I had to learn to forgive those that I wronged me or set out to harm me or my family. I will never forget, however I can truly live because I have learned to forgive those people in my life. We just have to.

So are you ready to forgive?

I had to learn in my life that people are just going to disappoint us. I just happens and it is a part of life. We will disappoint some, I will hurt someone and I know that someone will hurt me. When we forgive and know that we may end up disappointed, we can focus on true growth.