Thanksgiving - A Time for Giving Thanks

"As Christians, we can't love the whole world. But we should remember that God has placed us in a specific community at a particular time. We're called to love those around us. Loving them means serving them - and in doing so, we become the best citizens."

C.S. Lewis

It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and a time for giving thanks - for all the blessings that we have. I for one truly understand C.S. Lewis' quote for I feel that I have been placed on this earth to love and serve others and in doing so become the best citizen I can.

I am truly thankful that I could cook my family's turkey in an oven and not over the smoky fire that my friend Getrude has to cook over in her tiny windowless kitchen building in Wongonyi Village, Kenya. I'm thankful for being able to flick a switch and have light at night instead of having to use a fumy paraffin lamp that causes respiratory problems. I give thanks that our family can afford school expenses and food each day instead of having to worry where our next meal is going to come from or having to send my children out to work because we can't afford school fees, uniforms and textbooks.

There are many in the developed world who really don't know how truly blessed they are with what they have. In the developing world around the globe, there are millions of people who struggle each and every day just to have basic necessities of life like clean, safe water, education, food, clothing and a safe roof over there head at night. There are millions of children who have been orphaned as a result of HIV/Aids, other diseases and simply poverty - families who have to give up their children because they can no longer afford to provide for them.

On this Thanksgiving holiday, we ask you to remember those who have so little and we who have so much. Life is about gratitude and sharing the great riches we have with others in your own community and around the globe. Love others - volunteer at your local Food Bank, an Out of teh Cold Program or give generously to Share the Warmth programs and if you have been touched by others in the developing world, volunteer and share your talents and expertise around the globe like teaching business skills, working in an orphanage or help building a school in Kenya, Guatemala, India, China or Ecuador.

Thanksgiving - it's a time for giving thanks!