Thanksgiving

This was my first year to spend Thanksgiving away from my family, who all gathered together in Dallas. The Moores were kind enough to invite me (and 3 of my out-of-state friends) over to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family here in Portland with whom to spend the holidays. My friends Alan, Andrew, Drew and I joined Steve and Thanne, Maegan and Mollie, and Jill (a Murdock employee) and her family for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal and even better fellowship.

The Moores have a family Thanksgiving tradition in which each person thinks of someone who has impacted or blessed their life that they haven’t said thank you to or spoken to in a while)a teacher, coach , youth director, friend). You them give them a call and let them know you are thankful. During the Thanksgiving meal, we all went around the table and said who we called, why and their reaction. What a great tradition! I called my piano teacher, Ann Lindsey. Mrs. Lindsey taught me piano for 12 years and has always been a great friend. I keep in touch with Mrs. Lindsey often, but have never really expressed how thankful I am for her and what an impact she has had on my life.

This tradition was a great excuse to say "thank you" to someone, but we really shouldn't have to have an excuse in order to show our gratitude. The conversation I had with Mrs. Lindsey was priceless. It was just as much a blessing to me as it was to her. After talking with her I wanted to call everyone who has had an impact on my life and say thank you! What a simple way to be an encouragement to someone.

The night before Thanksgiving, Imago had a prayer service. They asked each of us to reflect over the past year and write down what we were thankful for... be it answered prayers, unanswered prayers, trials, blessings. So much has happened in my life over the past 12 months. I realized just how much I have to be thankful for!