What a wonderful day to start a trip to the mission field. Thanksgiving day – the iconic American holiday where we all stop , take a moment and contemplate what we have to be thankful for. As I get up late after sleeping in a little today I recall many of those past Thanksgiving holidays. Early in life, growing up in the cold country of upstate New York where the most important moment of the day was the annual football rivalry game between Kingston and Newburgh high schools. Later in life raising a family and according to the version of history from my wife and kids taking over the kitchen to put out that perfect thanksgiving dinner. More recently, Thanksgiving has been at this child’s home or that with them and their extended families continuing this great American tradition.
Last year was my first medical missions trip to Cambodia. Last Thanksgiving was totally different. No big family get together at our house or one of the kids houses. Dinner was at a Cyndy's cousins – and they let us come empty handed! Most of the day was spent in last minute packing and planning. This year as you know since you are reading this blog I am again heading to Cambodia on Thanksgiving day. What is different is that Cyndy is coming with me and my responsibilities with Transform Asia and the medical aspect of this trip have expanded. So, now we are packing for two, making lists for two and adding an entire layer of administrative pre trip activities that make things a little more hectic. In the midst of all of that, this morning as I ate some breakfast and had a cup of coffee I was contemplating what it is that I have to be thankful for, not only today, but each and every day. As I leafed through the pages of the morning paper, I realize that thankfulness is quite a relative thing. The headlines in the paper run from:
Sierra Mountain powder snow (skiers are thankful for that)
Jobless claims down (people with jobs are thankful for that)
thrift stores joining shopping craze, (don’t know what to make of that)
Tiffany’s net income rising (some rich folks are probably thankful for that)
Economic uncertainty causing civil unrest (can't see any thanks in that)
Artillery shell damage in South Korea (certainly no thanks in that)
Police raids in the slums of Rio de Janeiro (doubt if anyone is thankful for these things)
Dozens killed in Phnom Penh panic (Wow. That’s where we are going! There is no thanks in that!)
And Finally:
Church Serves up Thanksgiving Blessing with the sub heading from Lonny Zwerle (a 58 year old homeless man) who says “I’ve got food, shelter, I’ve got clothing, and I can give to others – Its wonderful – it sounds strange coming from a homeless person, but my whole experience has been a blessing and I thank God for it. There are a lot of people a lot worse off than I am -- and I've got nothing”
I think Lonny sums it up for all of us, Be Thankful For Where You Are and For What You Have – regardless of what your station in life happens to be. And make sure that your thanks are directed to God.
I am personally thankful that I can brave the most recent security checks, get on a plane, spend 14 hours flying half way around the world and give something to people who in the absence of our team will not have basic health care.
I look forward to, as I did last year, singing praises of thanks and blessings to our God each and every day as we go from remote village to remote village and meet the needs of the Khmer people. God has blessed me with the ability to do this and I am thankful for that.
Yes, our thankfulness is relative. And you do not have to be a missionary to experience thankfulness. God will meet each of us where we are and in what we are doing. And we can each be thankful for that. As a parent whose time and resources are directed toward raising your children, as someone who goes each day to a job and has the wonderful opportunity to see God in the work that you do, as a _________ you fill in the blank, we each can find much to be thankful for.
HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING.
AND BY THE WAY PLEASE PRAY FOR CYNDY AND I AND OUR TEAM FOR THE NEXT 2 ½ WEEKS!
No comments:
Post a Comment