It is right to give our thanks and praise...

It is right to give our thanks and praise. How often do we hear those words in church? For most of us, I would guess quite a bit. But how many times do we actually stop to give God the thanks and praise that God deserves? How many times do we actually stop to tell people that we are thankful for them and all that they do? To answer both of those questions for myself, I would have to say that I do not do that as much as I should. Which is why I have to say that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not only because of the wonderful food, but because of the fact that it is the one day that is set apart from the others when I have the chance to sit down and thank God, and thank those people who I love.

This year was the first Thanksgiving that I’ve experienced being away from home. And the first Thanksgiving where it has been about 80 degrees on the actual day of Thanksgiving! Ah, the life of a YAV living in Miami. But I guess I couldn’t be too sad being away from home because look who came to visit me? Mi madre!  

On Thanksgiving morning we had the opportunity to go to my work and help First United Methodist of South Miami serve about 100 meals to those in need. It was a great experience to be able to help those in need, and to be able to realize that I have so much, and so many blessings.

At night, my mom and I cooked dinner for the rest of the YAVs in my program. Since none of us could go home for the holiday, we just decided to spend it with each other. As many of you may know, I thoroughly enjoy food. I think about food all the time in fact. So naturally I have to tell what we fixed! We had celery with cream cheese and pecans, deviled eggs, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, and pumpkin pie for dessert! It was delicious. And it was so wonderful to actually be able to share it with my friends and with my mom.

To close, I just want to say that I am grateful for many things. I am grateful for my friends and for my family. I am grateful for the people in my life who give me support, and who have fully supported me along this journey so far. I am grateful to the people who made it possible for me to even come to Miami. I couldn’t have done it without you! And most importantly, I am grateful to God who has blessed me so greatly. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I urge anyone reading this blog to tell the people that you love that you are thankful for them, if you haven’t already. After all, it is right to give our thanks and praise!             

Below is a picture of the YAVs being silly after our Thanksgiving meal. From left to right we have Andre, Caite, Amanda May, and me.