THANKS-GIVING: A Feast of Blessings

The idea for the title came as I prepared a special meal on Sunday to celebrate Thanksgiving...

Boiled potatoes and carrots seasoned with butter and Italian spice, home-made stuffing seasoned and fried in butter, pan-fried seasoned chicken drumsticks, and delicious apple-grape juice (the best I've ever tasted!)

I realized that besides the food - which actually DID seem like a feast to me - I also have a feast of blessings around me every day! I call it a "feast", because when I count my blessings and give praise to the Giver of these wonderful gifts, my soul is satisfied and contented in an even richer way than enjoying a table full of delicious food!!

BLESSINGS:
- Uninterrupted time spent in preparation
- Listening to Tanya singing praise songs to the Lord
- The appetizing aromas filling the kitchen
- The satisfaction of being able to sit down and enjoy a meal
- Leftovers to enjoy in the coming days
- The abundance of fresh vegetables and food available to me

I had also planned a special presentation for Monday at school ... I wanted to show my language teacher, Galina, how thankful I am for her kindness and understanding and the excellence of her teaching. Friday, Oct. 5 was Teacher Day here in Ukraine (День учителя), but I didn't know about it until I asked her why all the schoolchildren were carrying flowers that day.

When she asked me why I was giving her flowers, I told her that it was Thanksgiving Day (День благодарения) in Canada, and that I wanted to say "Thank You," which led into a discussion of why we celebrate Thanksgiving - a great way to begin my Russian lesson! I gave her a handmade card as well which I had written in Russian -- it may not have been fully correct, but I could tell that she appreciated it very much, and that was all the response I desired.

BLESSINGS:
- Sweet fragrance of flowers moistened by the rain
- The unexpectedness of a surprise
- Joy in giving a gift to someone else
- Opportunity to learn some new vocabulary and share reasons for being thankful
- The Lord's faithfulness and new mercies every day
- Bringing a smile to someone else's face

When I arrived home, I had a special gift of my own to open ... my prayer partner, Vicky, had sent along several envelopes for me to open on special days of the year, and today was the first one! It contained a letter of encouragement and a little sticky-note pad.

I was very excited -- the sweetness and personal touch was a wonderful reminder of how blessed I am to have the love of so many people in my life!

BLESSINGS:
- The suspense of expectation and the fun of opening a surprise gift
- Quiet time with the Lord, meditating on Him
- The contentment of feeling loved
- A personal letter from a special friend
- Happy tears

And then... to top it all off, I received a phone call from a missionary friend here in Kiev, inviting me to their home for a special meal so that I wouldn't have to be alone on Thanksgiving. She had also invited another missionary to join us for the meal.

PHOTO, L to R: Amy R, myself, Agarim, and Kellie Benge.

What a special time! The food was great -- and I was hungry, because we didn't eat until after 7 pm -- and the company was even better!! We enjoyed talking, laughing and just spending time together.

BLESSINGS:
- Eating with friends, and not having to prepare a meal
- Common faith and various ministry experiences
- An unexpected invitation
- Laughter and sharing with one another from our lives
- Delicious home-cooked food and rich dark chocolate for dessert

These are just a few of the many blessings... there is not enough space here to list them all! As it is expressed repeatedly and eloquently in the Psalms:

"O, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

GIVING THANKS...

   Just before I left Thunder Bay, a friend gave me a book to read...it's called ONE THOUSAND BLESSINGS, by Ann Voskamp. It is a different writing style than I am used to, so it took me a little while to get into the book, but once I did, the truths that it contained gave me a new perspective, or lens, to see life through, one that has completely changed the way I interact with day-to-day life.

   And just as she did, so I began a "One Thousand Blessings" dare of my own...to write down 1000 blessings -- even the things that might not at first glance seem like a blessing. I'm more than halfway there, and every day I find myself giving thanks for God's gracious hand in EVERYTHING.

   It really is a change in perspective, and it is the beginning of true joy -- to give thanks. I want to share with you just a few insights from the book that have impacted me and I hope that they speak to you in some way as well...

Is the height of my chara joy dependent on the depths of my eucharisteo thanks?

As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be - unbelievably - possible! The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now.

Charis. Grace.

Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving.

Chara. Joy.

Sozo means salvation. It means true wellness, complete wholeness. To live sozo is to live the full life. Jesus came that we might live life to the full; He came to give us sozo. And when did the leper receive sozo - the saving to the full, whole life? When he returned and gave thanks.

Our very saving is associated with our gratitude. If our fall was the non-eucharisteo, the ingratitude, then salvation must be intimately related to eucharisteo, the giving of thanks. Jesus counts thanksgiving as integral in a faith that saves.

We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if not with thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our Yes! to His grace. Thanksgiving - giving thanks in everything - prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ.

She quotes from Alexander Schememan:

"Now, in the Bible a name...reveals the very essence of a thing, or rather its essence as God's gift...To name a thing is to manifest the meaning and value God gave it, to know it as coming from God and to know its place and function within the cosmos created by God. To name a thing, in other words, is to bless God for it and in it."

And then she writes her own thoughts:

In naming that which is right before me, that which I'd otherwise miss, the invisible becomes visible. I name. And I know the face I face. God's! God is in the details; God is in the moment. God is in all that blurs by in a life - even hurts in a life.

This act of naming grace moments...moves beyond the shopping list variety of prayer and into the other side. And I see it now for what this really is, this dare to write down one thousand things I love. It really is a dare to name all the ways that God loves me. The true Love Dare. To move into His presence and listen to His love unending and know the grace uncontainable. This is the vault of the miracles.

Jesus embraces the not enough...He gives thanks...and there is more than enough! Eucharisteo always precedes the miracle. And who doesn't need a miracle like that every day? The real problem in life is never a lack of time. The real problem of life - in my life - is lack of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving creates abundance; and the miracle of multiplying happens when I give thanks - take the just one loaf, say it is enough, and give thanks - and He miraculously makes it more than enough.

Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me!!!