CHURCH – I think having Thanksgiving as a holiday really brings people together (not… at stores on Black Friday) because oftentimes friends and family don’t really get much time together. Thanksgiving kind of forces the ones who are excessively busy back on the dinner table, and just talk, watch TV, and have a few laughs with the people most important to your lives.
So last night a bunch of us were in the fellowship room, sharing our Thanksgiving thoughts while eating some good food. Yeah, after battling with many other sleep-deprived people for Black Friday sales, the guys finally sat down to reflect a little bit :)
The top 5 things people shared about are:
1. Job: I’d say 70% of the people talked about how grateful they are for their jobs. I asked those who shared about jobs to rate how much they like their jobs, and whether they rated a “3″ or as high as an “8″, everyone’s appreciative of his/her job. Funny thing that the thing most people complain about (aka job) is the one they appreciate the most on Thanksgiving day :)
2. Family: family members was the 2nd most talked about topic last night. When everyone’s out there fighting hard in their jobs, they came back to the earth to think about the sacrifices the family members made, and they love they gave. The father who worked hard to help the daughter financially; the mom who cooked the whole day to make food for the family; the sister who called and made a conversation just to stay close even though away, etc..
3. Growth: many also talked about the difficulties they overcame in the past year. I don’t suppose people “love love” hardships, but the bitter sweet memories stay in their hearts and become their fuel in life. If life were always peaceful, there would be no tears, struggles, and strong will that lead to triumph.
4. Friends: over course, when there are difficulties in life, there are friends who cared enough to cry the tears with you. So last night many also shared about how their friends were there to be with him, when family members were not. Sometimes things are more easily explained to friends than parents, so the friends stepped up and loved these guys for who they are! Yeah, that makes me think about my great friends also!!
5. God: it’s this love-hate relationship sometimes… “God, why did you do this to me?”; “God, I love you, thank you for the family!”; “God, my family is a mess, why did you let me be born in this one?”: “ahhhh, God, I am so sorry I messed up, please forgive me…”; “……………………………..”. Yup, we love God for the good things He has done for us, and dislike the things He has done to us make our lives “miserable”. Well, people last night also shared about their struggles and growth in faith, and that was encouraging, too ~
Thanksgiving might be over, but giving-thanks should never end…
ChriSTmAsssssssss~~~