After spending a lovely, traditional Thanksgiving with our American friends that have become like family, we rode public transportation 45 minutes to our home.  I had a bag filled with a few leftovers and a heart filled with cozy, fresh memories of another holiday spent abroad.  For the rest of my countrymen, this was just another day.  They had little idea that my family was celebrating a historical moment in the history of our home country.  That, however, has been our normal for many years.

While we boarded the streetcar for the second leg of our trip home, two boys that looked to be around 20 years old were our traveling companions.  They occupied the area in the front of the car that was reserved for wheelchairs.  One was obviously the caretaker of his friend - and we speculated if he be the brother - of one who had wheels for legs.  They weren't drunk or high ... just dirty.

I normally do not use my phone when I'm with my family on public transportation but for some reason, I wanted to check my messages.  As I did, the boy in the wheelchair asked me if he could borrow my phone.  I had no hesitation in letting this boy use my phone.

A quick phone call to some unknown recipient to say he was on his way.  He then returned my phone with a gracious "Danke".

I, without thinking, asked him if he was hungry.  His sweet eyes softened and said yes.  I proceeded to tell him that I was Ameican and today we celebrated Thanksgiving.  In my bag, I had some food that I'd like to share with him:  a few slices of turkey and some fresh cucumbers and carrots.  He took my small offering wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in plastic bags as if they were being presented on fine china.  He graciously accepted and wanted to shake my hand ... and the hands of my dear girls ... and the hands of my Chris.  He then carried his bounty in his lap back to his buddy.  They unwrapped and unsealed the food immediately and ate as heartily as I had done a few hours earlier while sitting in a comfortable home surrounded by friends and family and having all I needed.

Humbling.

In between bites of food, they would glance our way and thank us, again.  As they approached their stop on the streetcar, they waved goodbye and thanked us, again.

And just like that, our encounter was over.

I was thankful for the things I have seen God do in my life while I was sitting at the white table-cloth draped table and surrounded by dear ones.  I was thankful that my friend had found real pecans when I bit into the real pecan pie.  I was thankful that I had a way home and could pay the price of the fare when I jumped on the bus to begin my journey.  I was thankful in theory.  But when those two boys began to eat ... thankfulness became real and tangible and something to grab with tight fists and believe in the deep parts of my heart.

Sometimes the good things in our lives are fluff.  We are thankful at a head level but thankfulness never quite drips down into the core ... the places where it matters.

God has been gently whispering songs of thanks in my heart.  I'm paying attention. I truly want to be a giver of thanks ... real thanks.  Psalm 26:6 - 7 made more sense to me this morning when I read it:  "I come to your altar, O Lord, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders."

Thursday night God provided a most unusual alter for me in which to bring my thankful heart ... a streetcar.  And this blog, as silly or insignificant as I may perceive it to be, is my attempt to "tell His wonders" to whoever may read.

Thankfulness realigns the condition of the heart.

Learning to be thankful ... really,
Christina

Thanksgiving is such an odd celebration living in a country that doesn't recognize it as your native homelands' holiday.  There are images of families gathered around tables as seen in films by my Austrian friends, but when it comes down to it ... there are high-priced cranberries, hard-to-come-by-sweet potatoes, non-existent corn syrup, small-breasted Turkey's (OK, only breasts), make-your-own pumpkin, imported-from-my-recent-trip-back-to-the-U.S. pecans, and fake-yet-still-pretty-tasty mushroom soup substitutes that all point to the lack of Thanksgiving being anything Austrian.  And ... that's OK!  It's not supposed to be Austrian.

Yet, my dear Austrian friends got a taste (insert giant smile for the pun) of Thanksgiving yesterday.  I made the basics (Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn muffins, pecan pie) to share with those we've come to love.  It was their first real Thanksgiving experience.

Years from now, chances are many of our dear - and very young friends - will reflect upon our day together.  They will remember all the food and the new word they all learned ... "Turkey coma" ... from experience.  They will remember the pies that were oh, so sweet ... the paper plates that were oh, so American ... but I desire that they remember the sweet bond of friendship and love that was more present at our table than anything I prepared in my kitchen.  For I will celebrate the faces that I've come to recognize as my "family" ... in a foreign land ... that make my living in Austria feel like "home".

and for that ... I continue to celebrate,
while awakening from my Turkey coma,
christina

• Realizing this is not a holiday for most of my friends.  While I’m bobbing about looking for pecans, no one else realizes what day it is.
• Pie plates are worth their weight in gold!  I’ve used tart pans and Pyrex lids for pie plates because they just don’t exist here.
• Canned pumpkin is non-existent.  You’ve got to do it home-style … by roasting a pumpkin and pureeing it. 
• Pecans are rare … and expensive. Sweet potatoes are becoming more available, but usually only 1 grocery store carries them in their imported food area.  You can find them at Asian shops.
• Cranberries, too, are becoming more of a hot commodity.  This year I only paid 2.99 euro a bag.
• Unless you are an employee of the U.N. and have access to their international commissary, you cannot find a real live turkey.  You can find geese … but rarely … if ever, can you find a real live turkey.  I just buy turkey breasts.

Our Thanksgiving has been full of celebrations. Instead of going into great detail about each one, I just thought I post a few pics to tell the story for me.


Our first celebration came in the form of a 25th Anniversary Gala at the International Christian School of Vienna. The evening was held at a local mansion (high class) and traditional Thanksgiving food served Austrian style was served!

The real highlight of the evening was getting to ... dress up! I know, I'm such a dork, but how often do you get to put on your best duds and dress up? Along with the American ambassador speaking, the Vienna philharmonic quartet playing, our Addison performed with her choir! The evening was just delightful!


On Thanksgiving day, we spent the day with team mates, eating finger foods, playing 80's music trivia (which I beat Chris at ... just for the record!), and playing the game of Life! It's such a nice blessing to be able to spend an American holiday with American friends when no family is around.

Saturday was the really big day. We hosted our Austrian friends for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. They kept taking pictures of the food. They had only seen such a meal in films! It was such a great reminder of the spirit of the original feast ... strangers in a new land celebrating with new friends.


Finally, today, we celebrated with a local house church yet another traditional Thanksgiving meal. It was a mix of Austrians and Americans and it was so much fun!

Feeling really thankful to be where I am ...

Many of you know that often times ... more than often times ... ok, almost always ... I process life through words. It's some weird (a good weird) way God has wired me. This morning I knew I was to write, so I wrote a little email to Chris' Mom. After I wrote it I thought "Hey, why reinvent the wheel? I'm using some of this for the blog." Now I cut all the really gushy personal stuff I wrote to her out. That is just for her to do with as she likes. However, my personal reflecting I did keep. So, please take a peek into my heart this morning.

Well, we woke up to snow covered ground this morning and its cold ...and it does put me in mind for the holidays.

Last night Parker and I cut sweet potatoes, shredded bread for dressing, made a carrot cake and frosting, mixed up a green bean casserole, cut veggies for snacking, burnt cranberries (at 2.99 Euro a package and I had two packages!!), cut onions and garlic and other seasonings for dressing, and assembled ingredients for a chocolate pie to be baked today ... AND ... ordered pizza because we were too pooped to fix anything to eat for dinner!!

Even though today isn't really Thanksgiving, it does feel like a holiday to us! Funny how what you do traditionally, no matter what day you celebrate, actually feels like a holiday.

Its funny how when you are doing life (the everyday stuff) you know you are not "home" but it doesn't seem abnormal. However, the holidays are though! You carry with you nothing when you arrive here ... nothing you can see. No furniture, few clothes, no dishes etc ... however, it's the holidays that remind you how many memories you've tucked away in your suitcases without even knowing they were there ... until they unpacked themselves each year around this time. The same will be true of Christmas...

I just wanted you to know the value I put on the things no one else see's in my life ... my little memories. These are the things I treasure most. These are things that will live on ... in the minds and hearts of my girls ... and I've got to believe that these are the things God tucks away(not sure how this measures up biblically, but it makes me feel good so I'm putting it in here), these good memories, in His suitcase and unpacks for us to share and repeat over and over again.

There are 3 young ladies who have tucked countless memories in their suitcases ... who knows where and when they will unpack them. My goal is to live so obediently to God that when they unpack the ones that concern me, they will be filled with gratitude, hope and pee-your-pants offlaughter! God willing I will still be alive for them to call me up, wherever they may find themselves, and share them with me over the phone!

Off I go! Let the festivities (and memory packing) begin!