thankful.

Because I'm a lover of words...I'll start this post, as I have started others (and as I tend to start our English discussion groups), with a definition:

thanksgiving

[thangks-giv-ing]  

• Examples 
• Word Origin 

noun

1.

the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God.

2.

an expression of thanks, especially to God.

3.

a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness.

4.

a day set apart for giving thanks to God.

5.

(initial capital letter) Thanksgiving Day.

I like the idea of "giving thanks." Because it's not just a state of being grateful. It's an active expression of appreciation for the many ways we've been blessed.

We always have a Thanksgiving worship service at my church back home, and I think it's really beautiful how my pastor brings out a microphone and people throughout the sanctuary say what they're thankful for. 

Actually, I'll never forget how my friend said one year, "This may sound weird, but I'm thankful for hardships." He went on to say that even the seemingly "bad" things--the struggles--had been a blessing because they had brought him closer to the Lord. Something to chew on.

Anyway, this Thanksgiving was quite unique for me in many ways. For one thing, I kicked it off by meeting an Italian friend for coffee. So, yeah...definitely never spent Thanksgiving in a foreign country with the first words out of my mouth in the morning being in a foreign language. So that's new.

But aside from the whole extremity of living in a foreign country, this was the first night before Thanksgiving I didn't go with my whole family to see a movie...It's the first Thanksgiving morning I haven't woken up to Mom telling me to hurry up and come downstairs because the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is starting...It's the first year I haven't had TWO ridiculously large and delicious meals to gobble up (pun intended)...It was the first year I've had to take part in the cooking (my amazing Grandmothers always have that under control)...It was the first year I didn't help my grandparents decorate their Christmas tree, put candles in their windows, hang that plastic mistletoe in the living room doorway, and turn out the lights to "ooooh" and "aaaah" at the finished product while Bing Crosby crooned in the background.

So on Thanksgiving (and I'm sure I'll also feel this way at Christmas) I did so deeply miss my family and friends. I missed Grammy's pumpkin cake and Nanny's sweet potatoes and stuffing. I missed getting to love on my little cousins and holding my baby cousin (who I've never actually met in person). I missed the southern accents and the love and the laughter.

But I wouldn't trade the texts I got from Italian friends that morning wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving (even though that Thursday is just another day for them, really). Thanks to technology, I was able to watch a live stream of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I wouldn't trade getting to hang out with Italian friends and having dinner with the fellow American ex-pats and followers of Christ who have become such a huge part of my life. FaceTime even allowed me to see my mom's side of the family at lunch and my dad's side at dinner from six time zones away. 

I also hosted my first Thanksgiving party the day after, so Courtney and I got to introduce this American tradition to about 20 of our closest Italian, British and German friends. So I wouldn't trade the six hours of food and conversation and games and laughter either. 

I love how I've always spent Thanksgiving in the past...so many wonderful traditions that are close to my heart and make me feel so at home. 

But I also love how I got to spend it this year. Tradition is great, but change isn't always a bad thing. Life shouldn't be stagnant. Nor should faith. Nor can it, I think, if it is a faith in Someone whose "love is better than life" (Psalm 63) and with whom you have an ever-deepening relationship.

Although where I live and what I do is presumably outside of most people's definition of "normal" and "comfortable," I'm thankful for all the people in my life who I never would have met had I not stepped out of my comfort zone.

So this Thanksgiving, I'm so thankful for the many individuals I have the privilege of loving, from my supportive family back home to my supervisor's daughters that I get to snuggle up with to watch Disney movies to European friends who have become so inexpressibly dear to me in a relatively short period of time.

Ah. I feel more thankful just by expressing my thankfulness. There's something to be said for this whole "giving thanks" thing...

And now that my first international Thanksgiving is over, it's completely socially acceptable to start playing Christmas music now...right? Hope so, because it's playing on Spotify as I write this ;)

And I'll end with this verse, which is such a great example of how we should live...

"Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Love y'all!