Thanksgiving

Well, 3 weeks have passed and I've got FOUR blog updates for the week. So, keep checking in....it is my Christmas gift to our few, faithful remaining readers!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house this year. I volunteered to make the turkey; I regretted it after I put it in the oven and found my anxiety level on the rise. This is my 3^rd time to make a turkey for Thanksgiving, and every time I start having visions of the turkey disaster on the movie, Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation. Fortunately, the turkey was huge and tasted good, which made many full, happy guests. The members of our house church attended, as well as some others that needed a place to be on Thanksgiving.

The turkey in the brine

We get really excited about holidays here and have to plan in advance for them, so that we will have the appropriate supplies for the "I absolutely have to have __________ dish or it won't be ____________ holiday" people (I am certainly one of these people). As with anyone that is away for the holidays, they can be difficult for me. We don’t just assume that we’ll be with a certain group of people, because the same people aren’t here year after year. We have to be proactive in finding a way to spend the holidays. Last year, we realized that we didn’t have anywhere to go just a few days before Thanksgiving and called some friends and invited ourselves to their house. We try to recreate traditions and foods, but something is still missing….the spirit of the holiday, the traditions that “just happen” as a result of being in America and being with good friends and family.

After Thanksgiving dinner, in a very surreal moment, I was playing cards with the ladies and found myself joking around, Ryan calls it “sassing”. In those 10 minutes, I felt more "myself," while on this soil, than I’ve felt since we moved here. It was nice. Maybe it will seep out more often and I will start to find myself more and more comfortable in the culture, stores, traditions, etc. Maybe I’ll find a friend who is a kindred spirit, who is a part of the local culture…and she can usher me into these comforts. Or maybe I’ll just be uncomfortable for a while longer. Either way, I’m here, doing what I feel called to do and doing my best to glorify my heavenly Father.