The following article was written after my first mission trip experience in Nov of 2005. The pictures above are of children I met on that trip and whose faces haunted me upon my return.
With the Thanksgiving holiday on its way, the question “What are you thankful for?” seems to come up more often than other times during the year. Somehow we tend to all have the same general answers- Family, Friends, Health, Opportunity……….. I’d like to challenge you all to dig a bit deeper.
The other day, I spent some time with my sister and 4 year old, niece, Delainey. Delainey was telling us what she had done that day at her preschool. She said the teacher went around to each child and asked them what they were thankful for. My sister and I were expecting Delainey to have said she was thankful for her Barbie dolls or for her pet. She surprised us when she said, “I told my teacher I am thankful for soup.” “Soup? “ Emily asked. “You don’t like soup. In fact, I can’t get you to even eat 1 spoonful of soup when we have it for dinner. Why did you say you were thankful for soup?” By this point Emily and I were smiling and chuckling at the thought of how strange it was to be thankful for something disliked so much. In a quiet voice Delainey responded, “I don’t like soup Mommy, but I’m still thankful for it.”
Isn’t it amazing how God uses children to teach us? What Delainey said really made me think. I know many of you can relate to this: When I think about those children I met in Romania, I have many emotions. Those feelings run deep. They are the kind that you can actually feel in the pit of your stomach. Love is one, and Hurt is another. It’s a hurting feeling that I get when I think about the orphans. I have often thought about how I disliked the hurt that my heart has felt since I left Romania. It took a four year old little girl to make me realize- You know what? I may not like the hurt, but I am thankful for it. God has put that hurt there so that I won’t forget them. I am truly blessed that God has given us the gift of loving and hurting for those children. What an awesome gift! For that alone, I am thankful. Sometimes the dislikes in our lives are the blessings we should be thankful for.
I personally am thankful for many blessings I have received this past year. Friends, family, health, and opportunity are only a few. I am so thankful for God meeting me in Romania in response to be being faithful to His call to go and serve.
So, I leave you with a challenge. I challenge you to really ponder the question: “What are you thankful for.”
Psalm 107 1:1 Thank the Lord because he is good. His love continues forever.
With the Thanksgiving holiday on its way, the question “What are you thankful for?” seems to come up more often than other times during the year. Somehow we tend to all have the same general answers- Family, Friends, Health, Opportunity……….. I’d like to challenge you all to dig a bit deeper.
The other day, I spent some time with my sister and 4 year old, niece, Delainey. Delainey was telling us what she had done that day at her preschool. She said the teacher went around to each child and asked them what they were thankful for. My sister and I were expecting Delainey to have said she was thankful for her Barbie dolls or for her pet. She surprised us when she said, “I told my teacher I am thankful for soup.” “Soup? “ Emily asked. “You don’t like soup. In fact, I can’t get you to even eat 1 spoonful of soup when we have it for dinner. Why did you say you were thankful for soup?” By this point Emily and I were smiling and chuckling at the thought of how strange it was to be thankful for something disliked so much. In a quiet voice Delainey responded, “I don’t like soup Mommy, but I’m still thankful for it.”
Isn’t it amazing how God uses children to teach us? What Delainey said really made me think. I know many of you can relate to this: When I think about those children I met in Romania, I have many emotions. Those feelings run deep. They are the kind that you can actually feel in the pit of your stomach. Love is one, and Hurt is another. It’s a hurting feeling that I get when I think about the orphans. I have often thought about how I disliked the hurt that my heart has felt since I left Romania. It took a four year old little girl to make me realize- You know what? I may not like the hurt, but I am thankful for it. God has put that hurt there so that I won’t forget them. I am truly blessed that God has given us the gift of loving and hurting for those children. What an awesome gift! For that alone, I am thankful. Sometimes the dislikes in our lives are the blessings we should be thankful for.
I personally am thankful for many blessings I have received this past year. Friends, family, health, and opportunity are only a few. I am so thankful for God meeting me in Romania in response to be being faithful to His call to go and serve.
So, I leave you with a challenge. I challenge you to really ponder the question: “What are you thankful for.”
Psalm 107 1:1 Thank the Lord because he is good. His love continues forever.
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