Thoughts on Thankfulness

 Thanksgiving week!  A time to give thanks.  It is wonderful to get together with family and friends and stop for a moment and give thanks for the many things God has done for us.  We wanted to share just a few lessons we have been learning about thankfulness.

Thankful to have our kids back on the island

The first thoughts come from little children.  During the orientation of the new team members, we spent part of our time (when we weren’t leading sessions) watching little kids—babies and toddlers.  It brought us back to when our kids were that age.  We remember encouraging our kids to pray by just asking them to say what they were thankful for…Our 4-year old would begin, “Thank you God, for mommy and daddy, and my toys.”  But then, having run out of ideas started looking around the room.  “Thank you God for the couch and the windows.  Thank you for the floors and the ceiling…” and on and on they would go.  And really it’s not wrong to be thankful for such things, but it shows perhaps a simplicity and thoughtlessness.   But how often are our prayers much the same.  We don’t know what to be thankful for because we haven’t given it much thought. When called on to give thanks, I often find myself searching around through the things “right in front of me” for which I could be thankful.  

Thankful for homeschool science experiments!

The place we were staying for the orientation had a large room where the children would run around and play.  In the middle of the room was a square pillar with decorative corners sticking out just at a toddler’s head height—perfectly positioned for an injury.  One night the kids were spinning around and around until they were dizzy and stumbling off or falling to the ground with lots of giggles.  One of them nearly collided with one of the corners of that pillar.  When we saw that almost happen, one of the adults simply went and stood by the pillar, putting their body between its pointy corners and the children.  The kids went on spinning and laughing, oblivious to the simple act that was protecting them from a very nasty bump on the head.  And we wondered how often God might do this very thing for us, without us ever knowing.  The car we never saw speed by, the uneven steps that could have resulted in a bad fall, the words misspoken that might have ruined a relationship, the email never sent that could have caused problems at work.  The list goes on and on.  How many times does God do things to help and protect us that we never even realize?  How can we even be thankful for those things we don’t see.  And yet, we should be.

The other thought about thanksgiving concerns suffering.  This one is tough, because when it is happening to us, we tend not to be very thankful.  No, we struggle to be thankful for our own sufferings.  But we are beginning to see that, at least after the fact, there has usually been something to be thankful for in the struggle.  We can look back and see how adversity was teaching us humility, or patience, or dependence.  We see that we are stronger because of what we’ve gone through and can give thanks.  

Thankful for decorating for Christmas

Last week, one of our island sisters was in court for her refusal to be quiet.  We did not know what would happen.  Her two nights in detention could have become 6 months.  We didn’t know.  But even in the midst of this suffering there was much to be thankful for.  Her spirit did not waver.  She was not afraid.  And she had numerous opportunities to share the hope that she has, even in prison.  So even as we prayed for in the midst of these struggles—we could be thankful!

It’s not always the case.  Sometimes things still happen which we don’t understand.  We fail to see any good that has come of it.  What do we do then?  And that’s our final thought on thanksgiving.  That even in the things we don’t understand at all, there is something that God will use, because at the end of all things, He can be trusted and He is good.  When we don’t feel thankful.  When we don’t understand.  We will hold onto that one thing.  He is good.  He is good.  Thank God that He is good.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are very thankful for God’s provision in getting our kids home— for them finishing their terms at school well and for the people that helped them through their connections. We are so thankful that our island sister on the small island had so many opportunities to share her hope and joy during her court ordeal and ultimately, we are thankful that she was not given a prison sentence, but was released with a fine to pay and told not to share publicly for 6 months.  We are thankful for the island brothers and sisters who came around to encourage her and pray for her. We are thankful that everything came together for our colleagues on the big island to get to mainland Africa in an emergency medical evacuation. We are thankful that we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with the medical team and all our kids.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our colleagues (a family living on the big island). They were evacuated to mainland Africa, after the wife contracted malaria while 7 months pregnant, causing her to go into premature labor. They were not given a good prognosis if they stayed on the islands, now we pray for her full recovery and for a healthy delivery. Pray for our time with all our kids home.  Pray that we could have good times as a family and also some one-on-one time to hear our kids hearts and walk alongside them. Pray for several island sisters who are suffering from different health concerns that will require special care off-island. Pray for healing! Pray for wisdom of the best way to celebrate Christmas this year for us personally, but also for the island brothers and sisters.