Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is about the food, right? We would say no, but if an outside culture came to America and spent time with our families on Thanksgiving, what would they take away from our Thanksgiving festivities? Hopefully outsiders would see that it is, at the very least, a time in which we gather together with our families and loved ones. 

Today we had a Thanksgiving party with some other teachers and students. We shared some of our beloved Thanksgiving foods such as mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. The students were excited about trying the food, but honestly didn’t really like the dishes that much.

Awesome servers!

 

 Human knot game

Lining up for the food

Thanksgiving skit. Let's just say we tried, but none us have a future in acting.

One thing that I have realized a lot more since moving to Cambodia is that I think more about why my home culture does the things that it does. I mull over my own culture because I wonder why Cambodians do certain things and because students frequently ask me about attributes of American culture.

Today when sharing about Thanksgiving with the students we reached way back into history and talked about the Puritans. Somewhere along the way I had forgotten. I had forgotten just why the Puritans where so thankful and I hadn’t considered how my elementary school view of cute little Pilgrims and Indians sitting around a feast wasn’t exactly accurate. The story was so much more. They were fleeing from religious persecution. They left everything familiar behind for an uncharted and wild territory. Some died on the ship and many more died from sickness, disease, and a harsh winter after arriving in America. Those who did survive and then lived to see a harvest had so much to be thankful for. They realized just how fortunate they were to live in freedom, because they had once lived without it. They realized just how fortunate they were to be alive, because they had seen so many who were dear to them pass away.

What are we truly thankful for? What causes a deep sense of gratitude to resonate within the depths of our souls? What are we so thankful for that it leads us to action and to praise?

In a recent blog post Ann Voskamp said something that I am still thinking about:

"What if the question around holiday tables wasn’t, 'What are you so grateful for?,' but rather, 'How are you changing the world because you are so grateful?' "

As we enter this week of Thanksgiving I'm reminded that I have so much to be grateful for! I have so much to be thankful for and I want to be challenged to verbalize my thankfulness as well as live out my gratitude through my actions.

Melissa