I’m thankful for my parents.
I’m thankful for my brother.
I’m thankful for my host family.
I’m thankful for my team. My squad. Leadership. Our favorite local barista/aunt, Ruth. Saigon coffee. My village. The mountains. Pho. My sleeping bag. Fans. Watercolor. Bananas. Coke.
I’m thankful for the invitation to say “yes.”
The list of things I’m thankful for looks pretty different compared to years previous. This Thanksgiving is beautiful and hard at the same time. I type this from my village in Vietnam, while living a dream I dreamt up years ago. It’s real. I was like a child begging for the invitation to the party, and finally God said, “Come.” And here I am. Living out my “yes.
It’s beautiful.
But it’s not easy. I miss my dad’s jokes. I miss my mom’s chats. I miss my brother’s hugs. I miss my family. And I miss my grandma’s stuffing. They’re waking up to prep for the Thanksgiving feast as we speak. And we’re in Asia cooking up some rice and pork with sweet potatoes in attempts to substitute an American Thanksgiving Feast as best we can.
But I’m still overflowing with thankfulness in my spirit. In this closed country, people are severely persecuted for their faith. I’m thankful that my home country is free, and no matter who sits in the White House, I have the privilege of living a life where my faith is respected. I can go to my favorite coffee shop and read my Bible openly, and never have to worry about the authorities coming and witnessing unlawful activity taking place.
I’m thankful for smiles, because even though very few understand my language, they know what kindness and love looks like on the face of a foreigner.
I’m thankful for sunny rain, because it reminds me that God’s promises are always with me. I don’t have to earn them; He’s freely placing them all over the path of my life.
I’m thankful for music, because it’s a universal language that I can appreciate everywhere. Despite the different styles and sounds, it brings happiness and joy. It brings dancing. It brings inspiration.
I’m thankful for every beautiful face I’ve had the pleasure of meeting these last four months. What a journey it’s been, and it would be totally incomplete without them. Each one has changed my life. Through the stories of joy, sadness, encouragement, bitterness, love- it’s all been a door to walk through and learn something.
I’m thankful for the wildflowers. As I walk through each place I’ve been, they remind me of everything I long to be. Simple and free. They sit and face the sun. They get what they need, and never ask for more. They grow. They’re beautiful, but they don’t ask for attention. They are wild.
I’m thankful for so many things this year. But the greatest of them all is God Himself. I’m reading the book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan, he posed the question, “If someone asked you what the greatest good on this earth is, what would you say?” The greatest good on this earth is God. You see, all of the things I mentioned above, including anything you mentioned in your own mental list, came from Him. Anything good- He is the Creator of it all. He is the Greatest Gift. And that is something to be so, so thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Linds
