Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday. Of course it's not celebrated here in South Africa, being an American holiday, but it's one I simply could not give up. We had to go to work (and school) that day, so we celebrated Friday night and invited a few friends over. Our guest list:

John, a Danish man born to missionary parents in Zambia. He has served the Lord all his adult life in Zambia, Tanzania, and now South Africa. He is fluent in Swahili, Danish, Engish and Zulu. John is a gentle soul and exudes peace.

Jack, an amazing black South African pastor. His mother was a sangoma (witch doctor), and Jack was to follow in her footsteps. He instead became a Christian and now serves the Lord in Soshanguve, one of the townships outside of Pretoria. If you ever get a chance to meet him, ask him what happened to him during apartheid years.

Ann, Jack's wife. A very quiet, very shy, very lovely woman.

Beatrice, Jack and Ann's friend. When you invite someone over to your house here in South Africa, they almost always show up with other people in tow, which makes setting the table a fun guessing game. You never know who (or how many) people will show up. So Beatrice joined our Thanksgiving feast, and quickly went from stranger to friend.

I find that too often when I pray, I give God a giant "to do" list, asking Him to do this and that, fix this, change that, heal this, etc. Rarely do I just come to Him in praise and adoration of Who He is. I am convicted in this moment of bossing the great I AM around. Let's devote today (even though it's a week after Thanksgiving), to just praising God, "who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things." - Psalm 103:3-5