It's Not about the Turkey

Today is Thanksgiving. I have been seeing pictures on Facebook of Families, Pies and Pilgrims, Table Settings and all kinds of things connected with today's holiday...even Parades and football. It's a sweet day to be with family and friends.

For many Cross Cultural Witnesses, Thanksgiving will be a day quite different than what they were used to celebrating in the United States. Some may live in or close to large cities where the traditional American food for today's feast can be purchased. For others, who live in the middle of nowhere, they may have to kill their own chicken if they want a fowl for dinner. Some may settle with canned chicken breast meat that someone was kind enough to send in the mail ahead of time. (Been there, done that.) Today, in Lawra, I will be eating a "soft chicken" leg quarter (imported and you won't break a tooth trying to eat it), canned green beans...not green bean casserole, the other ingredients aren't available, my favorite Jello that a dear friend brought for me when I was in South Africa, and a pasta side dish that my sister-in-law sent me. So, that's my meal. I most likely will eat alone as my Ghanaian counterparts are all working today. My plans for this evening got canceled, so I will try to meet up with some Ghanaian friends after work. I won't have my family with which to share my meal. Colleagues live too far away from me, so sharing with them isn't possible. 

This is the reality of a Cross Cultural Worker. At least, it's my reality. Everyone is different. I do miss my brothers and sister and their families. I miss my church family at Concord UMC, Wesley UMC and Cornwall UMC especially. Even though they are not with me in body, they are with me in Spirit. I thank God for all of them.

For me, and numerous people like me, Thanksgiving isn't about the turkey. It isn't about the pies. Or about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Or Football. And, when you come down to it, even though family is important, it isn't about family. It's about giving thanks to God. Thanking God for another year. Thanking Him for another year of life. Thanking him for another year with family and friends. Thanking Him for His Salvation, for His provision. And, even when the past year has been tough, thanking Him for Him walking with you, beside you, guiding you and holding you in His arms.

Today is Thanksgiving. Yes, I wish I were going to eat the white meat of the turkey today, along with all the traditional side dishes. It's a wish that will be granted in a few years. In the meantime, I will let all that is within me give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

Yesterday, I was talking with an American friend and I made a comment about tomorrow being Thanksgiving. Her response was precious and typical, "Tomorrow? Thanksgiving? I forgot all about it." That's easy to do when the outside temperatures are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Thanksgiving looks different here than it does in America. There are no festivities. After all, it is not a Ghanaian holiday! There are no turkeys. No stuffing/dressing.No cranberry sauce. No blood family.

Yet it is still a day of giving thanks. I am thankful for another day of life to praise my Lord and Savior. I am thankful that I started back walking this morning. I am thankful for all those I see and greet when I walk. I am thankful for my Ghanaian family and friends with whom I can talk, laugh and celebrate the joys of life and grieve the sorrows. I'm thankful for my personal Physician's Assistant who keeps my injections up to date. And for my mechanic who keeps my motorcycle safe to drive. I am thankful for Boniface showing me his school work and doing his homework at my house. I am thankful, too, for the technology that allows me to wish family and friends who are stateside, a "Happy Thanksgiving."

So, while most people I know in the United States are eating turkey with all the fixings and planning their black Friday shopping spree, I am enjoying a teryaki chicken stir fry, rice and a cold glass of iced tea. After all, Thanksgiving isn't about the food or planning the shopping trip! It's about turning your eyes/my eyes to the LORD and thanking Him for His great love and the gift of salvation. He has truly blessed us! Give thanks!

Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving...a special day, or a way of life? I think it is both. As a follower of Jesus, I pray that thanksgiving to the Lord and giver of life, is a way of life for me. Ipray that it comes natural to me, even in tough times. For, I can always be thankful for God's mercy and grace and love. I am thankful for the life He has given me and the place where He has put me to serve Him a ways I could never imagine. I am thankful for the people amongst whom I live. I am thankful for so many things that I would miss whilst living in the US. I doubt if I would be thankful for hot and cold running water. Or electricity at the flip of a switch. Or climate control..air conditioning and heat. Or lovely rest rooms on the Interstates, just to name a few. 

But, it is good to have a day of thanksgiving, too. To be with family and friends. To remember our faith and our history. and, to share with one another our thankfulness to God for our many blessings.

In Ghana, yesterday was just another workday. There are no other Americans here with whom I could celebrate, the closest one had to work. So, it is very good that I consider thanksgiving a way of life. My Thanksgiving Day did not include blood family, or friends from across the sea or turkey and dressing and green bean casserole or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. My day included: 

Getting up at 4:30 in the morning, making tea, having Bible study and quiet time, hand washing "unmentionables", meeting with the pastor, meeting with the pastor and Razak, making no-bake cookies, driving to Kalsagri to pick up a financial book, updating/reviewing Kalsagri's finances, eating left over pizza for lunch, getting information on the new way Methodist Church Ghana is going to collect revenue from the churches, visiting with a few people in town, working in the pantry...beginning to organize it better, decorating small for Christmas, checking emails, going to Ghana Post, visiting a Peace Corps worker in Kalsagri who was teaching school (since it was not a holiday here), making some Christmas cards and eating wings and cauliflower and watching "White Christmas."

It may not seem like a lot to you. Trust me, in 97 degree heat, it was. My ministry is very relational, so it is important to check in with people. As I did, I shared with them the holiday. It was nice. So, Thanksgiving was celebrated without turkey, without stuffing, without pumpkin pie (which I don't like anyway.) Thanksgiving was celebrated with a thankful heart to the One who has given me His all.