All creatures, lift and sing

Ok, so my last post might have been a little flippant. That's me, sorry.

I ran in the annual embassy footrace this morning. I got 6th in the 5k with a 22:54. Not quite as good as I had hoped, but not bad for minimal training and high altitude. Our journey was a little exciting (you can read the news) but we were pretty far away, and were OK. Our art teacher won the girls race this year, marking the second year one of our folks has won the woman's portion of the race. Go us!

Later today, we're having our annual campus thanksgiving meal. It's a fun time to just bond more with the family we have here.

I just think about all the things that I have to be thankful for, and I wonder who am I to get these gifts. I wonder who am I to be so richly blessed. I have an amazing job, I know so many amazing people, I get to help in some unbelievable situations. I'm not going to lie, I'm not always happy to be here, I don't always have the best perspective. But I'm going to quote something here that I wrote around this holiday last year. "Thankfulness is an attitude, a desire we have to cultivate wherever we are, whatever we are faced with. There is joy to be found in all situations, even the ones we don't see it in."

Just like I can't always tell you everything that is going rough, I can't tell you everything that is going good. Some of which is because you're not here. How can I tell you how good it is to just spontaneously decide to go out to eat with friends here? How can I tell you how good it is to get out and run somewhere new? How can I tell you how good it is to see a smile every day, even when I'm down? How can I begin to describe the pain and struggle, the triumph and glory that I see every day?

I don't just give thanks to the pilgrims, or to Abraham Lincoln. I don't just give thanks for turkey, for time with friends, for not feeling alone. I give thanks that all this is for a King.