We celebrated American Thanksgiving on Saturday with a group of about 20 co-workers. I was so encouraged by our time together!
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Thanksgiving is a family holiday, right? And these people have been our family. We have been celebrating our holidays. . . and all our days . . . with these same people for ten years, twenty years, almost thirty years now. We have watched their children grow up and leave the nest, and they have watched ours do the same. Some of the younger kids are still with our group, and as I listened to them, I kept thinking, "How can you be so mature? I remember when you were still in diapers!" Don't worry, I didn't say it out loud.
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This is about 1,000 gifts again. It has been two and a half weeks since I started my list, and I am up to 67 gifts. At this rate it will take me about 9 months to finish. But my goal is not really to finish it, the joy is in the journey, as they say. I am becoming so conscious of how much I have been given. Gift #5 was "a good night's sleep." Sometimes I just list the gift, with no comment. But that day I commented, "I know that not everyone has the comfort and safety and health that make this gift possible." Gift #29 was "Karim and Eti." This is the student I mentioned in my last blog, along with his precious wife. Every time I see Eti, she gives me a big hug . . . she never fails to brighten my day! I love drinking tea with them and listening to their stories. Gift #37 was "Literacy." Many women my age, around the world, are illiterate. It is normal for our IGSL students to tell me that their moms never went to school. I am one of the lucky ones . . . no, not lucky! It's a gift from God, for which I am profoundly grateful. Every time I open my notebook to work on my gift list, I am just amazed with how much God has given me, and how good He has been. I am a very wealthy lady.
