THANKSGIVING SADNESS

Growing up in the US, Thanksgiving was directly connected with Christmas which was directly connected with family, food and fun. It was the season of all seasons - the joy of the year. The holidays were times to push away any sadness you might have known all year and be thankful and glad.

After moving to Brazil, the meaning of Thanksgiving has changed somewhat for me.

Although I can't say I remember every Thanksgiving in detail, I can remember some very vivid days. Back in the early 90's, it was all we could do to hunt down some tiny turkey somewhere for dinner. And I felt so bad for my poor mother who would slave in the hot kitchen for hours no matter what country we were in, but the Amazon? It was ridiculously hot in that house. However, since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, we would invite all kinds of people over to share with them the joy of this season.

One day, already afternoon time, when we were getting close to that blessed 4:00 or so mealtime, the phone rang. It was a pastor in our town.

~I think I owe my readers a side-note here. My parents have a ministry where they use an enclosed boat to visit the poor and needy up and down the Amazon river and it's tributaries.~

As I was saying - the phone rang and it was Pastor X. He wanted to speak with my dad. I passed him the phone. Dad's expression did not take long to change from happy and peaceful to saddened and somber. A baby had died. A young couple from one of the villages we have frequently visited had a newborn who was very sick. They spent all their money on a boat ride into the city to take the baby to a hospital - but to no avail. Their baby had died - on Thanksgiving day. They had no money, no home, no food and now, carrying it in a shoe box, their little corpse. They wanted to take it home to bury it. They needed a boat ride.

Needless to say, we postponed Thanksgiving. Dad and Pastor X took the family and the shoebox up the river. They made it back that evening - not in the mood for giving thanks.

A few years later, my first semester in college, the week of Thanksgiving - I was packed to go to a retreat with other MKs since our families were all overseas. We would be spending Thanksgiving together. The phone rang. It was my mom. My grandmother - my dad's mom - had just passed away. She had a heart attack and fell on the floor banging her head on the way down and knocking herself unconscious.

What is with this???? Why are we the ones who always have to be sad on Thanksgiving??? I was not a fun person to be around at the retreat and from there I flew on to South Florida for the funeral. My parents had come back from Brazil as well - Only to find out that my dad was sick with some sort of Amazon bacteria in his system that would threaten him the rest of his life.
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Almost 10 years later, I think I've learned something about giving thanks. At this time of year, it is good to give thanks for what we have - the blessings that have fallen on us. But it is also good to recognize and be thankful for the things the L-rd has NOT asked us to go through. The trials that would defeat us completely - His protection from the worst case scenario. I remember the story of the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem. The fight that the Maccabean family would put up to be able to maintain their blessings. We should be thankful for what we have - and what we don't have to go through to obtain our blessings.

Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because [he is] good, for his mercy [endureth] for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.