Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Thanksgiving

Sometimes, I make things in life so much more complex then they need to be... I think about updating my blog but then think I need to make it so deep that it overwhelms me enough to keep me from just doing it. This weekend, I learned a valuable lesson from my 13 year old daughter.

Elisa was asked by our pastor to speak on Thanksgiving Sunday. She was asked to speak about something she is thankful for - the time limit was 1 to 3 minutes. Of course, since the "asking" came through me, I had definite ideas of what she could (in my mind "should") say. I imagined all kinds of great speeches she could give. However, every time I asked her if she knew what she wanted to say, she would be very vague. On Saturday night, I told her I'd get up with her in the morning to help her write it out - if you asked me, she clearly didn't know what she wanted to say or how she should say it. Sunday morning, Elisa got up early - before me - and wrote out what she wanted to say. When I got up, I asked her to practice what she wanted to say - at this point, I was still thinking that I knew what she should say. As she read what she'd written, tears formed in my eyes because what she'd expressed her thanks in a simple, sweet, & powerful way. Here's what she wrote:
"Friends", a simple word but with it comes many meanings. Proverbs says that a friend sticks closer than a brother. My definition is someone who you can trust, someone you can lean on and who will catch you when you fall. I know how hard it is to make friends when moving schools, towns, provinces, even countries. But, I have met wonderful people at ECC (Eaglemont Christian Church) who have become my friends. They comforted me while my mom was going through cancer. We have had a great relationship for 3 years and we support each other. While we have our ups and downs, they only make our friendship stronger. This is why I am thankful for my past, present, and future friends. Thank you!"
I loved it! I especially found that I was struck by the last statement: "I am thankful for my past, present, and future friends." What a great thought! How often do we think about being thankful for the people God "will" bring into our lives??? It's easy to be thankful for those who are currently in your life but how cool to think of the people who will be our friends in the future???

Thank-you, God, for my past, present, AND my future friends!

California trip

California trip
A group of my "rocks"