Happy Thanksgiving Out There!!
I saw a picture on my "memories" on Facebook this morning and it reminded me that 9 years ago on Thanksgiving, I brought home a two day old 6 lb baby named Avery Grace Whitehead. It was so cold that day - the whole week hadn't been cold, but that day, it was. She looked so tiny and I couldn't believe I was now in charge of another human being!
One of my favorite stories in the whole Bible is in Joshua 4. At this point, Moses had died and Joshua was leading the Israelites into the land of Canaan. They'd be wandering in the desert for 40 years at this point and gone through A LOT. Remember - they'd be slaves in Egypt but escaped slavery with just a little bit of God's help and survived in the desert with just a little bit of God's provision (obviously, I'm being funny - the entire reason any of that happened was entirely because of God). The Israelites had to cross the Jordan River, which flows just south of Lebanon and Syria, in between Israel and Jordan. This was in the spring, when the river was the highest. Remember that there were still thousands of people and they weren't just carrying themselves across this river, they were carrying other items of great importance, namely the Ark of the Covenant. God dried the river up at precisely the right time and place for everyone to cross it. After they crossed the Jordan river, Joshua 4 tells the story about how God told Joshua to take 12 men from each of the 12 tribes to take 12 stones from the river and go and set up a memorial where they would camp overnight. The stones were to be in the middle of the Jordan River (where they still stand today). God told them that when their kids ask them why the stones were there, they can tell them this was the place where God led them safely over the Jordan.
I love this story because it's all about having reminders of times when things worked out and when God pulled you through a time that was nearly impossible or really difficult. I think these reminders are so very important. Holidays work in the same way - each year, we celebrate something we are to remember and it brings back mental reminders that help us with special events or days. Thanksgiving is a great example of that....for me, not only is Thanksgiving a reminder of the early makings of our country, but it is a reminder of my child and how God made me a mother.
In my Bible's notes, for this chapter it asks the following question: "Do you have traditions - special dates or special places - to help your children learn about God's work in your life? Do you take time to tell them what God has done for you - forgiving and saving you, answering your prayers, supplying your needs? Retelling your story will help keep memories of God's faithfulness alive in your family."
So today, as we are thankful for things in our life, tell your family a story they might not know of a time when God worked in your life and did something for you that only God could have done.
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