There is so much more than daily bread for which to be thankful

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And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Dt 8:3)
Today was always my father's favorite day of the year. I am not so sure Dad loved turkey, and he wasn't much of an eater, but I am sure he loved his family. Few people love their families as much as my father loved his. And so he loved Thanksgiving Day, because that meant he certainly would get to spend more time with his family, that he would get to laugh with his family, and share again with his family. 

Dad had a huge family, so thankfulness overflowed in his life. He had only one sister, Helen. And he had only three children: Me, Patty, and Michael. But he had so many more brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. I am not sure I can count them all, because if you knew Dad, you were part of his family, too. That is the kind of Dad and man he was. Dad loved everyone. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't love him in return. 

Dad died in March of 2014, just minutes after spending hours and hours with some of his family, laughing, and smiling, and being thankful for family. We listed among his immediate family our step brother and sisters (of course), one foster child, and one foreign exchange student. We should have listed many others, too. Honestly, we only had so much room in the obituary. Dad was just that kind of man.

So for Thanksgiving last year, we celebrated one more time at Dad's house, remembering our father, who now is in heaven with Our Father. Thanksgiving will never be the same.

This year, for Thanksgiving, Valerie and I stayed home for a change, and invited our new friends, Jeff and Donna and their three children, to join us for a meal, celebrating all that God has done and continues to do in our lives, just as Dad would have. As Jeff and I know so intimately well, after just 24 weeks in Fort Wayne, God blesses us richly, like he blessed my father, with good family, and good friends who are now family. In good times, and bad, God blesses us richly. It is hard to walk away from the comforts of home, the riches of our Egypts into the proverbial desert. Yet, we are being fed. So I am thankful for food, and new family. We had much to smile about, to laugh about, to be thankful for. We don't know where our bread comes from. But it's always there. 

Give thanks to our heavenly Father, for he is very good. 

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