For the past couple years, we have gone to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving. We love seeing and spending time with all our family. It is a three day long celebration! Last Thanksgiving was a bit sad. We had a memorial service for Ritch's Dad. This year we planned to drive down as well. Until two weeks ago, we were all set to go then things came up and we decided we needed to spend the weekend at home to recharge. It was going to be difficult to get Newt back to college, the drive home on Sunday is always horrible, and I was beat from all the travel with Haley and Dylan the past couple weeks. The next few weeks are filled and I really needed to get the house back together, decorate for Christmas, and catch up here.
After we decided not to go to North Carolina, Ritch suggested we have so much and are able eat turkey any time we want, so why not help feed people less fortunate than ourselves. He brought up the idea one day while I was at work so I set him to work finding us someplace to help. Ritch made a number of phone calls and was sent from person to person until he was finally found out about a church in the neighboring city. He and Haley went there last week, talked to the pastor, and signed us all up to help on Thanksgiving.
When they went on Wednesday night before to help set up for the meals, the pastor told them that a couple months ago, the man who normally plays music for the Thanksgiving dinner informed them he couldn't attend this year. She and another woman were talking about who else they might be able to get. The pastor told the other woman said she remembered a tiny little girl who used to play fiddle at the local deli for open mic nights and said if she could have anyone it would be that little girl though she had no idea how to get in touch with her anyway.
The pastor told them when Haley and Ritch walked in last week to sign up, she recognized Haley as the little fiddler she remembered (from six years ago) and got chills….God had answered her prayers. Some might chalk it up to a huge coincidence but it seems to me too many things decisions had to be made a certain way and too much had to happen to put us in that church this Thanksgiving Day. The Lord works in mysterious ways!
We all went to the church early yesterday morning to help peel potatoes, set tables, and fill containers with food. There were so many different people helping out from all walks of life. Everyone was friendly and helping with a full heart. We worked all day and the time flew. Ritch and Newt lifted and carried things, peeled mounds of potatoes, and talked with the people coming in to eat. I helped set tables and dished out turkey most of the day. Haley played some fiddle during dinner and helped spoon mashed potatoes (her favorite). We talked to everyone and enjoyed seeing their smiles and giving them seconds or a container to take home.
We will have our Thanksgiving turkey today and count our blessings as we head into the Christmas season and new year.
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