22 November 2006

A Thanksgiving Reflection


"He has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17 NIV).

We glimpse God’s reality and goodness in and through simple activities of life--He has designed time around a bountiful table with friends and family as an example of His goodness to all.

For twelve successive years, our family met with another to share Thanksgiving Day together. Tomorrow will be our first year of absence—London is just a bit too far from Los Angeles. Those twelve gatherings are cherished memories. Nothing unique, nothing overly exciting happened. We met, shared laughter, stories, poetry, a sumptuous meal, a brief post-meal nap during the football game, and later in the evening, a documentary or old movie.

Yet, in all those simple things something profound happened; we found our lives had been nurtured with gladness and we were made more grateful to God. Each gathering cemented into the core of our hearts this focus—that there is little more precious in life than to receive and appreciate the goodness of God in friends.

Thank you Garry and Elizabeth. Those times together we hold precious.

May the Lord grant us a greater ability to see and appreciate this expression of His goodness to us every day, in every relationship He's given us.

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