At Thanksgiving it's natural to ask our Muslim friends, "What are you thankful for?" It can open up interesting conversations. I like to do this in my English Conversation groups. Because of how it was birthed, we have a wonderful opportunity to give praise to God. "On Thursday, January 31, 1957, the Parliament of Canada made a proclamation stating: "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed--to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October."
I love this Thanksgiving chair (click) video clip. I don't want to spoil the story line but briefly it's about a man who was reminded throughout a day that he still has much to be thankful for.
It was fun trying this on the All Nations Sports Club boys. We had a 15-20 minute 'God talk' half time. They formed a semicircle in the gym around the whiteboard that doubled as our projection screen. This time I placed a chair in front of the group with a Happy Thanksgiving helium balloon attached. We watched the video clip and then I explained: “Now, we’ll each take a turn, sit on the chair, and talk about one thing you are thankful for, stuff you really mean. They were animated. We started with Fristen(junior leader from Congo). He very nicely shared about being thankful for his parents, a peaceful country, and that he can go to school. Amazing that each boy including the leaders eagerly took a turn with sitting on the ‘Thanksgiving chair’. Some shared about being thankful for the club and good snacks. Iman gets on the chair and says he is thankful for legs…the others burst out laughing. I intervened…”LISTEN.” So he went on to explain how he gets together with a group of young soccer players at a park near his home. And he continued how he is thankful for his mom, etc. He didn’t want to get off the chair! After he went back to his chair I shared a story of a Chinese university student who stayed with us for a while many years ago. She grew up as a communist and wondered who to thank for good things that happened to her. After she got to Canada she heard about God and how generous he is. Soon she became a follower of Jesus.
I love the harvest when the hum of combines can be heard late into the evening, bringing in the "bountiful harvest". We have much to be thankful for, don't we? Comparing my life to scenes on the evening news, I don't deserve this more than anyone else. But God has allowed me to enjoy them.My refugee friend, a believer from Sudan drove this thought home. He had come from a camp where conditions were very bad. But the cold weather during a Canadian winter got to him. One day as he was shivering and waiting for the bus he heard the cheerful chirp of a bird sitting on the power lines. He began thinking--"If that bird can sing in the middle of winter, why should I feel sorry for myself?"
Dear God, thank-you for your numerous good gifts. You are a loving and generous Heavenly Father. Amen.
