Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.[1]

 

IT WAS OUR THIRD

Thanksgiving together as a married couple. The year was 1958. We were also in what seemed to be the darkest, most difficult time of our young lives. (There would be many more such times unknown to us then, but this was our first.)

 

LOOKING BACK ONE SEES

opportunities we did not see then. Options overshadowed by uncertainty. Fear. Pride. Possibilities we missed. The mountain we faced seemed overwhelming to us. ‘Perspective’ was needed, but where to turn? Who to trust? God was silent. Watching. Waiting to see what we would learn.

 

We were proud of what we had accomplished so far. Having graduated from bible college in the summer, I was in my first of three planned years of seminary studies. We had both worked full time while I finished my college years. In tackling seminary studies, we decided Dixie would work while I devoted full time to my classes. We were determined to make it on our own, but we soon found our world was upside down. At least so it seemed.

 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.[2]

 

We had a four-month baby girl we adored, but whom we had to leave with a fellow student’s wife each day while Dixie drove off to work and I went to my classes. Far from relatives, Dixie was not well. She had to have surgery. Our income diminished accordingly while she recovered. I felt I should be working. She wanted to be home with our first child. What were we doing? We were tired. Drained in ways we didn’t understand. Three more years of living like this seemed insurmountable. Our minds were nowhere near in “perfect peace.”

 

AS THANKSGIVING APPROACHED

we were weary, broke and discouraged, with no friends or family nearby. Only the pastor and church choir members we had become acquainted with in the few weeks we had been participants. Then, late on a November night while returning from choir practice, under the porch light we found a cardboard box. Opening the box we found vegetables and potatoes, bread and … a turkey. Everything needed for a Thanksgiving dinner!

 

We laughed and hugged and brought it inside, spreading the bounty across the table. We had never cooked a turkey before, so Dixie called a friend with whom she had worked in Seattle. Her husband, a recent University graduate, was working for the Oregon forestry service. They lived in Salem, an hour’s drive. Almost as poor as we were, they welcomed sharing our Thanksgiving box with us. And she knew how to cook a turkey.

 

IT WAS AN IMPORTANT LESSON,

one lingering in our minds long after, helping to shape the way the Teacher expected us to live out our lives. Acts of kindness were to be seen as ‘little miracles,’ unexpected gifts for us to share with family and friends, neighbors and strangers. They were opportunities for holding on. Letting go. Giving. Receiving. Laughing. Weeping. Listening. Telling. And a box to share now and then, filled with love.

 

Do you recall the day his disciples were faced with something they found to be insurmountable? They asked the Teacher, “Why couldn’t we do it on our own?” Jesus replied, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”[3]

 

God taught us with a little ‘miracle box’ something we couldn’t be taught in seminary. The importance of Trust and Peace. Humility and Faith. And how when these things come together, ‘mountains’ really can move for us.

 

WHO LEFT THE BOX

on our doorstep? We never knew. A simple act of kindness showing us how we were to live our lives going forward. A reminder that we are not alone. Our Teacher always knows exactly where you and we are. Maybe it was an angel. Or maybe … maybe it was you.

 

We are often encouraged to think outside the box. But sometimes what’s inside the box is a blessing, too. So here’s to moving your mountain, whatever and wherever it may be. Trust and Peace. Humility and Faith.

 

Happy thanksgiving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Psalm 106:1

[2] Isaiah 26:3

[3] Matthew 17:&