A Very Weighty Thanksgiving

When I think about Thanksgiving as a child,  I remember my teachers always encouraging me to write down what I was thankful for. ( I am sure we all did this pretty much.) My child mind always went to all the positive stuff in my life. Things like: the fact that my dad had a good job and bought me almost everything I wanted, that I always had food to eat, and my Barbie collection. These things are all good to be grateful for, but what the Pilgrims were celebrating that first Thanksgiving was NOT their Barbie collection.
   The Pilgrims had just come through the hardest year or so of their lives. Most of their friends and family had died in the harsh winters and there was probably some major questioning of the "moving to a new world for religious freedom" decision. But, in the midst of the hardest times in their lives, they were sent hope. Hope in the form of people that they were afraid of at first. Hope came with the Native American people that so very generously took the Pilgrims under their wing and taught them how to survive. Because of the Native American's generosity a small group of Pilgrims survived that first winter in the new world. Man, does my story this year (on a much smaller scale) compare to those Pilgrims.
   Don't get me wrong, I am so SO grateful for all of my family and earthly possessions, just like I am sure that those Pilgrims were grateful for their homes, and food, and new land to live in. But, in the spirit of what I believe Thanksgiving was first given: I am thankful for surviving the "harsh winter seasons" of this year, and the amazing people around me's generosity that showed me how to get through it.
    This year brought on the hardest obstacle to date in our lives: the loss of a precious baby boy, Tobias Isaiah Hillhouse. We had treaded into "new land" when the doctor informed us that our healthy 18 week baby was no longer living. This "new world" that we stepped into was full of complete heartache, disappointment, and just plain hurt. But, in the midst of the hardest times in our lives, we were sent hope. Hope in the form of people that we had lived years without knowing how badly we needed them. Hope came through friends and family that had lived in this harsh new world of disappointment, and even specifically the loss of a child. Without their guidance and help, and words, and hugs, we may not have survived that "harsh winter."
   So, this Thanksgiving is a little weightier for us than any in the past. Barbies are not exactly in the forefront of my mind. The "thankful" has a much much deeper meaning than ever before. We are somehow thankful for the hardship, because we are able to see how the Lord's grace brought us through it, and that will turn any bitter heart into a grateful one. So this thanksgiving I will raise my glass to the same notion of those Pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving: "I am alive! And six months ago, that was not looking too good, but thanks to all of you and the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, I AM! So, may we live with all gratefulness and not waste a day that we have here in our "new land." And live out our thankfulness in everything we put out hand to."
CHEERS!