Praise & Thanksgiving

Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings

 than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.  ~A.W. Tozer

When you're serving overseas, holidays can be hard.  It's always my intention to celebrate as if we were at home, of course, but our little observances inevitably fall short of my vision.

Thanksgiving Day was no different.  I was going to cook my husband the best feast he had ever tasted (Sorry, Mom!).  I even resolved to drive to Eldoret, which is 90 minutes away, in order to get the turkey.  But then I was told that the turkey would be a live one.  So much for that.  Then I learned that the nearest source for cranberry sauce is in Nairobi.  Scratch that as well.  And with the heat we're now experiencing, I had to abandon my plan to prepare a pumpkin pie from scratch.

But I wasn't to be defeated.  I was on a mission.

As you know, since the fire on our compound two weeks ago, we've been without city power.  I am certainly grateful to God (and the Clearwater Corps and the Florida Division) for our generator, but we simply can’t afford to run it all the time.  So it's switched off every day between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.  It was my plan to arrive home early from work on Thanksgiving  and get to work the moment power was restored.   

As soon as the generator kicked in, I revved up the oven and rushed to my computer in order to pull up a recipe I'd found on the internet that promised to produce the “best, juiciest bird possible.”  I didn't have the turkey, of course, but I did have a rather large chicken, and Ken could pretend, couldn't he?

That's when I discovered that the internet was down.  I ran to my cell phone to call for help, but it wouldn't function either.  So, with no time to spare, I resolved to use an old recipe and went to the refrigerator to get the meat.  That's when I discovered that the power outage had caused the bird to drip raw juice all over the interior of the refrigerator.

I cleaned up the mess, prepared the bird, put it in the oven, and started to set the table.  But as I put on the tablecloth, I remembered that most of the chairs around our dining table would be empty this year.  My eyes welled up, and I grabbed the place settings and set up a romantic place for two on the coffee table.

The drama continued all afternoon, featuring bugs in the flour (AGAIN!), humongous ants in the pantry, a wimpy bird burnt on top, and flat biscuits burnt on the bottom.  Ken eventually arrived home to find dinner on the table, but he also found an over-heated, frustrated, exhausted wife.

After surveying the scene, Ken just took me in his arms, thanked me, said the aroma was wonderful, and proceeded to eat every morsel.  Then he encouraged me to sit down and rest while he did the dishes.

As I plopped down on the sofa, I thought about how much easier it is to be thankful when you have a table surrounded by family and friends, a sumptuous feast to enjoy, a football game to watch, and everything else that goes with the holidays.  Being thankful is a bit more of a challenge, though, when the day isn't quite picture perfect. 

Then I thought of my Kenyan brothers and sisters who, according to recent reports, make an average wage of $1.83 a day.  They struggle to survive, and yet they never fail to praise the Lord for His generous provision.  Suddenly, I felt very guilty about my sour mood, and the Lord reminded me of  Hebrews 13:15:

 

"Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise..."  

 

 
To offer a “sacrifice of praise,” I must surrender something.  I must give up my self-pity, as well as my selfish plans and ambition. 

Lord, during this holiday season, I resolve to surrender everything.  Without any hesitation or reservation, I will celebrate your generous, unmerited blessings in my life.  I have so much for which to give thanks.