Thanksgiving: It is easy to be grateful when you have just been to Africa

Recently, I returned from a trip to Africa, feeling abundantly grateful that my calling brings me back to the safety of my comfortable home in the United States. I absolutely love and feel called to do the work I do: I serve those who serve abroad. But I would be lying if I said it was easy for me to go. There is a cost to this kind of ministry, physically and emotionally. That said, I cannot describe the respect and love I have for the women I meet, who serve daily in orphanages, on co-op farms, in refugee camps, in medical centers, and in missional functions, in places where they often cannot find what we, here in America, consider basic needs. They battle all the same problems in marriage, family and work relationships, only they do it in places where they do not always have command of the language, resources are VERY slim, and much of their financial and emotional support lives oceans away.

Spiritual Girls Weekend for Weary Souls

For those of you who might be confused about what I do on these trips, here is a brief description. I have a couple organizations that I am a part of, that offer restorative conferences for women serving overseas. Some of these women are with Christian missional organizations and others are with organizations that are committed to building up communities around the world, with or without a faith-based component. The teams I work with offer counseling, pampering, and encouragement through music and motivational speaking to women who are pouring their lives out for those less fortunate. Think “Spiritual Girls Weekend” for weary souls.

I recently served in Mozambique, a country who sits around #7 for poorest nation status. Of the 25 poorest countries in the world, only a handful are not in Africa so Mozambique is a nation surrounded by other poor nations, with no real hope of big change in the near future. Mozambique continues to struggle after a recent bout with communism and while there is progress, it is very slow. I left for this last trip on October 30th and returned on November 15th to the splendor that accompanies the holiday season in the United States. The contrast between the poverty that I viewed looking out of the hotel where we stayed, and Christmas lights lining the roads in my community remind me how fortunate I am. Even in the toughest of financial struggles, I have always had food and shelter. I have never had to watch my children go hungry. And without fail, someone decorates my community each year with a lovely display of light at Christmas time.

Move from feeling to acting grateful

I am aware that it is easy to say that I feel grateful for what I have, with the images of the poor so fresh in my mind. So my challenge to myself this year is to go beyond feeling grateful. When we go around the table and I say I am thankful for my family, my friends, and my warm home, do I check the gratefulness box or do I continue the conversation and explore what is required of me? For example, it is humbling when supporters share their financial resources with me so that I can do what I do. How do I show my team of generous people, who give so that I can go, how grateful I am for the part they play in making the world a better place? How else can I serve to make use of every penny they invest?

Luke 12:48 reminds us that to whom much is given, much is required. So today I have to ask, “What does acting grateful look like after we have cleared the Thanksgiving meal dishes?” What skills, passions, and gifts do I have to offer and where else can I make a difference in the life of another? How do I actively show that I am grateful for it all?

Are you ready to move from wanting more to giving more? What skill or gift do you have to offer the world? Are you ready to move from feeling grateful to displaying gratefulness?

With love,

Sonia