“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34)
We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving here in Fresno. Yesterday, Melissa and I looked at countless options for flights to Peru, with prices soaring for the Christmas holiday, and seats disappearing within minutes. But as we sorted through the different flights, eventually the answer emerged, and we bought tickets for Dec 14th! We are so thankful to have a date to work towards, and while we realize leaving Fresno will be difficult, saying goodbye to family and friends, we know that God is in this all, and for that, we are grateful.
A few other items of thanks. Since we were in Canada last year at this time, we missed the Fresno fall colors. It seems that God has brightened the colors, placed more trees in our pathway, and given us many reasons to drive down streets filled with orange, red, and yellow Fall hues.
I am also thankful for the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving with my old team at the Housing Authority this week, and share a bit about where we are going in Peru. Thanks Allysunn for opening up this opportunity! And Steve, that smoked ham was amazing! It was good to have some closure on that chapter of my life, at least for now.
We are thankful for family this Thanksgiving. Last Saturday was a wonderful celebration with Melissa's parents and siblings, and today we celebrate with the Ens clan. It does seem that, through these transitions, God continues to orchestrate times like these to celebrate and be thankful.
There are many other items to list. An understanding landlord extending our condo agreement, a chance encounter with an old neighbor on Alta Ave, a pastor and his wife planning a wonderful Commissioning Service this weekend at the Grove (10 am, Sunday, Fancher Creek Elementary), and an understanding nurse at Kaiser this week for the kid's shots. And so many more.
It is good to recount these things for me in this time of moving our family to Peru. God is already working out many of the details when we get there. For all these things, we are thankful.
Lowell
