Thanksgiving & remembering RMH

Well, my favorite Holiday of the year is coming in a little over a week. I love Thanksgiving and the 3 F's. Food, football, and family... & not necessarily in that order. I just really love the whole focus of being thankful and looking back over my life in the previous year to see all that God has done. No matter how difficult things have been or how bad the struggles are I always find myself with an outpouring of thanksgiving for God's providential nature. He is my great provider and sustainer.

Today I was working on a sermon and just thinking back through the years and how God has been so good to our family and it reminded me of Thanksgiving 4 years ago. Isabel was about 2 weeks old and was just out of her first skull surgery to release the pressure on her brain. She was at the Children's Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH. A we all gathered very briefly at my folks house in Dayton that day to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was especially hard...but I think my heart was more thankful then it had ever been before. God had provided a refuge for us during this difficult and trying time at the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital. It was such a blessing and a surprise. We had no idea how we were going to live from day to day while Isabel stayed at the hospital and the RMH provided our every need with food, shelter, friendship. They gave our family free passes to the zoo and to the Aquarium.

I will never forget the kindness of people as they came in to serve lunch and dinners to us. It was such a refreshing thing to get a hot meal and have it not cost us a thing. From time to time in the past few years we have returned to serve meals and what a blessing it is to help those families that are now struggling as we once were. I found myself today thinking about the possibility to taking my family down there on Wednesday before Thanksgiving to serve a meal. We will already be down there that morning because Isabel has a follow up appointment with her hand surgeon. I called and left a message there...chances are good that another group has already signed up to serve a meal that day but I am hoping that if needed we can be there as a family to serve those in need.

I will always remember one lunch in particular. Out of all the groups that served us there were usually a lot of people helping to serve. This particular time there was just a husband wife and some older children. I asked them what group they were with and thanked them for feeding us. They told us they were not from a group but in fact years ago were residents at the RMH receiving help themselves. They pointed to one of their sons who was helping to serve and told us his story and his struggles. He looked at me and told me something I will never forget. He said, "years ago we were served...today it is our turn to serve." In that moment I longed for the day I would be able to return with my family and realize "our time to serve."

Since then we have been down there with church when we lived in Dayton and served...I am still looking forward to the chance for just my family to go and return the favor and give those that are hurting some inspiration as we get a chance to tell Isabel's story. God thank you for all the times you have provided for us over the years. Thank you for the trials, struggles, and tears. You have made yourself entirely visible to me and those memories sustain me even today whenever doubt/fear/concern in life tries to creep in. You are truly an awesome God and worthy of my utter thanks and gratitude.

What are you thankful for? In what way shape or form is it, "your turn to serve?" Keep your eyes open. You never know what God is up to in your life and in those lives around you. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor