Thanksgiving, 1982

It was Thanksgiving, 1982.  I was pregnant with Erin, the baby we had yearned for for such a long time.  We had just moved back to Nebraska from Michigan that September.  Even though we had been married for almost eight years, it was the first time Bill and I had ever celebrated Thanksgiving together with his family in Gering.

The food was amazing, as usual.  Bill's grandmas were both excellent cooks, and his mother was proficient, as well, even though she always said she hated to cook.  The smell of that succulent turkey wafted throughout the kitchen and family room as we seated ourselves at the extended dining table.

Then, before we could enjoy the beckoning feast, even before we said grace, someone, probably Bill's Grandma Lucas, asked us to "go around the table" and each tell one thing we were thankful for that year.

I was totally overwhelmed.  How could I express my feelings of thankfulness out loud, without crying, to that group of people I barely knew?

In all fairness, I should say that I was undoubtedly not the only person at the table who felt that way that year.  I'm quite certain that Granny Lucas wouldn't have insisted on having us express our thankfulness without ample reason.

After a long, uncertain wait, Bill's sister, JoAnn, and brother-in-law Willy, had adopted a baby girl in May.  Then, seemingly out of the blue, Bill and I had decided to relocate in Gering; I'm sure that his family never expected us to live so close, ever.  On top of that, I became pregnant after we were told that Bill and I would likely never be able to have biological children.  It must have seemed like all of Bill's parents' and grandmas' wishes came true that year!

Besides the obvious, Bill and I had countless other reasons to thank God for his goodness in 1982.  We were in awe of the way God had orchestrated our move, providing a free airplane ticket so we could afford to fly to Nebraska in April, when we ultimately realized that God was leading us back to Nebraska permanently.  We had sold our house near Traverse City just three weeks after listing it for sale, for more than double what we paid for it just four years earlier--in an economy where mortgage rates hovered at 18%.  Bill's folks had insisted that we live with them for a couple of months until we got a feel for the community.  We appreciated their generosity so much, but we were also grateful that we had found an apartment and moved into it that November, a couple of months before the baby was due; I was definitely in nesting mode!  We were thankful that Bill's dad had helped him get a temporary job at the sugar factory, working campaign for a few months while Bill scouted out some construction jobs.  And, I was thrilled to find that November was not yet winter in Gering, as it had been in Traverse City.

I don't remember exactly what I mumbled when it was my turn to speak. Whatever I said, it must have been a paltry expression of the gratitude I was feeling that November.  But God knew.  He always knows our deepest thoughts.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118: 1, Psalm 136: 1, 1 Chronicles 16: 34, and others

Please note that the above verse appears numerous times in the Bible.  We are exhorted over and over again to express our thankfulness to God, who is good above all others, who continually gives us good gifts instead of giving us what we deserve.  He is always worthy of all our thanks and praise.  
To him be the glory!