Thankful for Thanksgiving

This Thursday was the first Thanksgiving that Ryan and I were able to celebrate together, and coincidentally it was also our first real holiday as husband and wife! Although we didn't host a large gathering or dinner, we had fun making pies, jell-o salad, and flaky rolls together. We were blessed enough to receive a dinner invitation from another Coast Guard couple. It was nice to have a traditional turkey-stuffing-mashed potato dinner with two other people who are also far away from their families. We enjoyed a delicious meal at their home and had fun talking and playing games. God is so good to give us a day to remember just how blessed we are.

God is also particularly good for giving me a husband who not only tolerates my perfectionism, but also is there to help calm me down when I lose perspective. Even though I didn't have the huge responsibility of making an entire meal for guests, I was still nervous to make pies for this occasion. I have made Thanksgiving pies in the past, but my mom has always been there in the kitchen, giving me tips about how to pinch the edges of the crust so they look pretty in the plate or how to tell exactly when each pie is done. When I experienced problems with the first pie, I started to freak out of course and started crying about how terrible I was at baking... blah, blah blah. My very patient and loving husband simply gave me a tight hug, told me everything would work out, and went to the grocery store to get more ingredients to replace the ones I had messed up before. With his help, I calmed down, enjoyed the pie-making process, and we were able to make two very delicious and nice-looking desserts.

I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving and that you were able to reflect on all that God has done in each of your lives. He truly is so good. How often I forget it with all of the superficial distractions around me. That is why I am very thankful for Thanksgiving... a day to remind me of how much He deserves my praise.