Rebekah and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving together last Thursday as foreigners in a new land. We ate our feast with a group of believers we met through Christian Union: Ian (not the same Ian I've written about previously), our host and a financial news correspondent, Bob, a telecommunications systems consultant, and Johnson, a Nigerian seeking asylum in Norway due to religious persecution in his home land. We dined on juicy turkey, cornbread stuffing, mounds of mashed potatoes, marshmallow-covered sweet potatoes, butter-drenched green beans, sweet corn pudding, and crispy rolls. Rebekah contributed the corn pudding and the pumpkin pie we had for dessert, her first Thanksgiving dishes.
The evening began with just a group of strangers. We stood in the kitchen and chatted about our time in Norway and our family histories. As the night wound down, we sat by the fire, prayed for our new friend, Johnson, and taught him about the original pilgrims. We are all away from our homes, trying to make it in a new place. And we came together to share what little we have to make the day better for everyone. It was a great way to spend our first Thanksgiving.
One of the traditions we've had in our family is to share the things for which we're thankful. Over the past couple of months, Rebekah and I have been repeatedly blessed by the generosity of her parents. This Christmas, they're flying us home to be with our families. They've taken care of shipping all our belongings here. They've just been overall wonderful. Of the things I'm thankful for this year, they top my list.
It's been amazing being a part of their family and it's only been three months. The next fifty years are gonna rock! They don't ask for anything in return, either. I guess that wouldn't make it all so sweet. And I don't think they're silently hoping for some repayment. They're just being themselves.
I'm just blown away by their love. I hope that we can someday repay them. I don't mean by only being generous to them. I hope we can spread the generosity to others. That's what I've taken away from Thanksgiving this year: give with an open heart and expect nothing in return. It was a great first Thanksgiving.
