A Good Thanksgiving

What a great Thanksgiving and beginning of Advent! We went to Rock Hill to see our two grandchildren and have Thanksgiving Dinner with our son-in-law's parents and grandmother. Caleb went with us, but Josh and Karen were in Greensboro with her folks. It was a good day, and after a few hours we came back to Columbia. Of course we miss Ganny since her sudden death in August. This was our first Thanksgiving with all of our parents gone, but in the Communion of Saints they were still with us is so many ways.

For instance, on Friday Cindy and I went to the movies to see "Blind Side." It is a great movie! It reminded me so much of my mother who became the legal guardian for an African-American man who was mentally challenged. The authorities had threatened to send him to a state institution. He hung out and helped people with their groceries for years at my grandfather's country store, but his mental condition deteriorated, and his family had basically abandoned him. His name was Frank Arthur. He lived with us, had his meals with us. My Dad shaved him and cut his hair. Any way, the movie "Blind Side" brought buckets of tears to my eyes thinking about my mother's big heart and bravery in doing what she did for Frank in the 1950's when race was a worse issue than it remains today.

So around the Thanksgiving table and all weekend I sensed the presence of so many: Ganny, SaSa, Papa Mac, Gandaddy, Papa, Grandmother, Uncle Lee, and many more. On Saturday the Gamecocks beat archrival Clemson and that would have made most of my deceased relatives very happy. Sunday was an even better day! We celebrated Evy's first birthday and her baptism at St. John's, Fort Mill. Everything was simply wonderful. Narcie's sermon was outstanding and Mike's music and the Praise Band were superb. Cindy and I both were filled with tears of gratitude in how God is using our children. Josh and Karen are doing great in ministry and Nursing School. The Rock Hill Herald newspaper had a wonderful article about Josh's ministry with the homeless yesterday. Check it out http://heraldonline.com/front/story/1775436.html. God has blessed us and we're thankful.