Thanksgivng

Thankgiving--the time of year when we make a point to get together with family/friends and talk about our many things for which we are thankful...yes we should be thankful always, but this time of year we tend to reflect more on the blessings in life.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is to get together with my dad's side of the family at my cousin's house the saturday before or after Thanksgiving.  We eat in the garage and share things we are thankful for from prompts (favorite modern convenience, time of year, etc).  One of the things i most love is how many of our answers turn back to Christ.  This year one of my cousins had the ? "what person in history are you most thankful for?"  His answer was Christ, which is the answer for so many of us, but in this case--well, 2 years ago that would not have been his answer.  His surrender to Christ has been recent and it brings me unspeakable joy to see and hear the difference Christ is making in his life--or in anyone's life.

Another tradition i have kind of adopted is to stay here in TN and have anyone who may not have a place to go, who may not have family around, get together for dinner.  Some friends and I have adopted this tradition together.  It is amazing to see the random families God brings to this event each year.  This year we had 27 ppl gather, some whose families are out of state or not around, some who just needed a place to go.

Two days before Thanksgiving I got a call asking if I could take a girl whose Thanksgiving plans fell through.  I can't begin to imagine what it must feel like to have to spend a holiday at the mercy of ppl you have never even met.  She was very kind and helpful--a 14 yr old who threw the football with the guys, played well with all the kids and was as respectul as she could be.

I am thankful she was able to join us this year.  Her presence also reminded me how blessed i am to have such great friends and family.  I will always have a place to go home to, whether it is my brother's in NY, my mom's in GA, or a friend's here in TN.  On the multiple occasions i have spent Christmas day here, I aways had multiple offers of places to go--ppl i know and love, not random strangers whom i have never met.  Yet so often I take these friends and family for granted.  I forget what a blessing it truly is to have them.  This year, having foster children in my home, I am greatly reminded how God blessed me with the family He gave, with the friends He has made to be my extended family.