Thanksgiving!

Wow, would you believe that an entire month shot by without a post to the blog? So the saying "time flies" whether you are having fun or not bears some truth. This is just a mini post because as we draw to the end of 2006 I will be recapping on the highs and lows of a year that passed at lightening speed.

This year's Thanksgiving we decided to make a family day, by sharing a meal and talking about what we considered issues to be thankful for. I sat upstairs behind my computer for a while, the girls were doing their 'thing' of relaxing, and Nancy spent the morning and the night before preparing a little feast for us.

Traditionally - Turkey is the favored dish, we were different, opting for cornish hens (one each) and a leg of ham which we lazy grilled on the Weber. It is ironic that when your eyes lay hold of the table and the food present, you think and believe that you can get stuck in and finish what ever is laid before you - we proved that theory wrong. Not one of us actually finished the food on our plate - how sad.

The one story that made us really think back on how good the Lord is, how blessed we are to serve Him and enjoy His provision is a story of Nancy's cousins in Zimbabwe. When they were young boys they would have to walk for 10km's to school every morning, which meant waking crazy early. For breakfast Llyod and Charlie would prepare a few handfuls of cold "sadza" (from the night before) which is ground maize from the harvest of their crops, and snack on that as they trekked off to school. Before arriving in class they would have to make sure they looked neat and presentable and so would dust each other off and proceed to class. After a long day at school and activities in the afternoon they would begin the journey home and so the cycle would repeat itself. So, what would there be to be thankful over such a long lost childhood memory?

Years later Nancy and I were able to bring these two lads from the Zimbabwean rural area of Chivhu, accommodate them by us, and give them a job at the printshop. Today both these young men are successful in their own right, Charlie has recently married and has successfully started his own little business of servicing printers and refills, Llyod is the head pressman and in charge of the pressroom at our old shop - now the thought of Thanksgiving starts taking shape...

We were able to just sit back and ponder how good the Lord is. Out of nothing He made something wonderful for these two kids growing up without hope, without a future. We sat and shared how thankful to the Lord we are for His blessings, and ability to turn situations around where everything is seemingly lost and without a future - Charlie and Lloyd are a testimony. It is refreshing to be thankful for moments in life that you know you played a tiny part and were able to see the bigger picture as being the Lord's plan - that to us was Thanksgiving! ...and of course good food, family time, and fond memories spent together...