A time to be...thankful

November 21, 2008
A time to be….thankful
Last night I had an early Thanksgiving dinner with 13 other people. There were a total of four Americans there; myself, my supervisor Kim, Sara from Texas, and another girl from Texas. We each brought a dish so that the traditional Thanksgiving dishes were covered; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. It was really funny to watch the non-Americans try some of the food which they are not accustomed too; the pumpkin pie was approached with apprehension but I think they all enjoyed it in the end. I left the party with a couple extra pieces of pumpkin pie when the hostess discovered that it is my favorite. It was an indescribable experience to spend an American holiday in another country with a mixture of Americans and non-Americans. It helped put into perspective the history behind Thanksgiving, what I have in my life and in my country for which to be thankful. Since most of you will have not celebrated Thanksgiving yet, I hope that you can all begin preparing your hearts and minds prior to the day to think about the founding of our country and the men and women who desired freedom to worship God and establish a country based on Biblical principles. Also, contemplate on how God has moved in your life and blessed you in unexpected ways over this past year. It is so easy to become tired every year in all the expectations to have a big meal and decorate the house and uphold family traditions that I start to feel tired and almost dread the holidays a bit. I pray that you would spend some time in contemplation and thankfulness this Thanksgiving.