Thankful

Thanks - giving, thanking and giving...our usual Thanksgiving takes place at my mother-in-law's where she cooks almost everything (to perfection) and we then partake in it. Once in a while we mix it up and do something different like going to my aunt's or mom's. My mom did hold Thanksgiving this year but we were unable to attend and I am now very "Thankful" that we didn't. My sister, niece, and brother all got the flu and there was vomiting involved in the night, ew and whew! I was going to visit on Friday morn but my mom called and warned me not to, of which I am also thankful.

This year an opportunity became available to us, our church goes to Forest Avenue Shelter in Kansas City every year on Thanksgiving to clean, cook, and serve the people there. The Shelter is in a church and it is for women and their children. I was very excited about being able to be a part of this ministry and the rest of my family was in agreement as well. Christian ended up being under the weather and unable to go with us (not the upchucking thing though, again...whew). My wonderful mother-in-law cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for us on Wednesday since we were out of school. We met up with church family in Sedalia, loaded up and then followed them in our van due to James queasy stomach...we have to drive everywhere. We arrived at Forest Avenue at around 12:30 and got to work. The ladies that stay at the shelter arrive at 6:30 pm, during the day they aren't allowed to stay there. They each have a chore assigned to them, such as, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping, mopping, etc. Our crew does the chores for them so when they arrive they can have a "true" holiday and to show them a lesson in action about grace.

The women and children arrived, a young lady, Hannah, who is 15 and from Cornerstone, led a devotion about showing God's love on your face (my interpretation), how can we tell people about the love of Christ with a sour looking mug? The youth served everyone and we all sat down to eat. There was a woman with three children, her oldest was a teenage girl who told us all that she loved us. The woman's husband was at another shelter that take men. Another lady used to be a successful travel agent but the company she worked for went under and she lost everything. They were all so thankful for a good meal and a warm bed. We fixed roast and cheesy potato casserole instead of turkey due to the fact they get tons of it during the holiday season. We make cookies and candies instead of pies and cakes because they can put them in a baggie and eat them for lunch the next day. What a lesson for all of us on what being thankfulness really means, we take so much for granted and whine and complain about the most mundane things. I am so glad I got to be a part of this, we will definitely do it again.

We cleaned up everything and left around 9, we were only a few blocks from the Plaza so I begged my darling husband to just drive through so we could see the lights and horse drawn carriages. We arrived home a little past 11, what an amazing day!
What I'm most thankful for is Jesus' sacrifice and the privilege to serve Him.