Thanksgiving isn't just a day

I think Thanksgiving is a very holy holiday as we pause to give thanks to God for what He has given us. It's very personal and also a great way to unite as families, communities, and a nation. This year has been a tough one for us. However as we reflect on what has happened, we are overwhelmed with our blessings. We are so thankful. I'm going to tell you about just a few of our blessings.

President Spencer W. Kimball (late president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) said, "God does watch over us and does notice us, but it usually through someone else that he meets our needs."

We have seen God's hand through many, many people this year. I will summarize. Chris was laid off from his job last March. Because he is a school teacher, he wouldn't be able to start any job until September. That's when school starts. We did what we could during those months to take care of ourselves, including selling almost anything we own of value. When we left Utah, we thought we had a place to live lined up in Yonkers. For whatever reason, that deal fell apart as we drove across the country. We got to New York with no home and had to put all of our things in a storage unit. It took us about six weeks to find a place to live. We have needed, and received, so much help this year. I don't think I can list all of the people who helped us. Like I said before, I will summarize.

**My parents, who provided us a place to live. We moved in with Mom and Dad intending to stay for a few weeks. It turned into over three years. Our financial struggles aren't new to this year. They're just worse this year. My parents have provided a loving home where we felt at home. We are so grateful.

**As we looked at different options for getting to New York, I immediately decided that we should see my brothers along the way. We planned our trip, making it a little longer than necessary, and I asked several people if we could stay with them. I am grateful to my brothers and their families, my cousin, my good friends in Nebraska, and Chris' brother--all of whom let us stay a night with them and eat their food. This saved us so much money in our move. But more importantly, it allowed us to turn the very emotional goodbye into an exciting time to see family and friends as if on vacation. We had a great trip across the country.

**Because I wanted to see my brothers, I didn't want to haul a U-haul with us. That would have been too much for Chris and me to do. Other families do it, but it just wasn't right for us. We couldn't afford any of the moving options. One day, out the blue, a neighbor approached Chris at church and said, "You can load up my truck and drive it to New York." My jaw was on the floor when I found out. Another friend said, "I have some vacation time. I'll drive the truck for you." And another friend offered to do the same. We told some neighbors about this kindness, and they offered us a trailer. We ended up packing in borrowed truck and trailer. We turned it all over to our friends who met us in New York. I am so grateful to these very Christlike people who offered this incredible service to us.

**There have been other members of our church who have gone out of their way to help us. There were offers of help in packing, babysitting kids, and loading the truck before we left. Once we got to New York, we moved into a motel. We went to church the following Sunday. We met a family who invited us to dinner that night. During dinner, we discussed our situation. They had moved across the country several times and had found themselves in similar situations. They invited us to save money on the motel by coming to stay with them until we found a home. We were a little reluctant--we have a big family and we were practically strangers. But, we had no money left and so we decided to take them up on it. Staying with this amazing family helped to ease the pain of my initial homesickness and loneliness for my sisters. It helped my children to have instant friends. After we had stayed there for about a week and a half, we went to stay with some other members of our church. They were equally welcoming to us, making us a part of their family. After a week and a half, another couple in the area offered to let us stay with them. I am still overwhelmed by the kindness and charity of these good people. When we finally found a home, we rented a U-haul and about five members of our church from the Yonkers area helped load it and drove an hour north to our new home. Here at this home, we had five or six complete strangers--whom we had contacted through the church--meet us to unpack. A neighbor sent over some food. Another member of our church offered to take our kids for the afternoon so that they wouldn't be bored as we unpacked. Since we moved in, we have had phone calls from people in our new ward--just checking up on us. We've had several invitations to dinner. We have been enormously blessed by the goodness of individual people. The only thing we have in common with some of these people is membership in the same church and faith in following Jesus Christ. We are so grateful for their exemplary lives of service.

**I will summarize: Chris is getting paid much, much less than we expected. This isn't so much naivety on our part as is it complicated bureaucracy on New York's part. We think his salary will kick in at some point. Anyway, we have had need of financial help. We've received help from our parents and a brother. We would not be surviving without this help.

**And how about the New Yorkers who aren't members of our church? We've heard all our lives about how rude people are in NYC, right? Let me paint you a picture. We had just arrived in New York. We went to get some pizza at a small, family restaurant. We asked our server if she knew of any places to rent in the neighborhood. Within a few minutes, the owner was out front, leaning against the counter, with a ball of pizza dough in his hand, talking to us in his thick Italian accent. "I got a brother who can help you." That's, to me, the picture I see of New Yorkers. It seems like everybody knows somebody who can help us. The guy at the storage unit knew someone who was renting a house. Every time we stopped by our storage unit, he'd come out of the office to check on us and our situation. The lifeguard at the motel had lots of leads and was very concerned to help us find a place. People are so friendly and everyone is willing to help in whatever way they can. We have taken the train and subway as a family. Initially, we had trouble reading the schedules. People overheard us trying to figure things out and they'd pop in with advice. Helpful advice. You should have seen the whole crowd try to help us figure out what to do when we realized we were on the wrong train . . . I'm grateful for the kindness of strangers.

**When I was just graduating from college and for many years after we got married, I always, always wanted to live far away from my home. I thought it would be a good experience. And then, I thought, I'd move back. But then I got the opportunity. I guess this is what it took for me to realize what an amazing life I had built with our extended family. Chris and I made a decision early in our marriage that we would never miss important events. We make the trip to California for family events. And we go to every family event in Utah. In our church, we often talk about eternal families and eternal relationships. Those relationships start here. When we build a relationship on earth, we have the beginnings of eternity. I feel like one of the main purposes of this life is to build and maintain relationships that will continue in heaven. Many of the principles of the gospel and attributes of disciples are built around relationships: fellowship, compassion, charity, forgiveness, repentance, service, etc. I'm sorry. I think I got off the subject a little. My point is I am so grateful for my sisters. We have built an incredible support system together. My children are so very close to their cousins. While it's my sisters, their families, and my youngest brother I used to see most often, I am equally grateful for my other brothers and Chris' family. We're trying to maintain those relationships over this distance. It's not that easy.

**I have been very impressed, once again, with the organization of the Church. Our church has a brilliant system, an inspired system, to help the poor. Every month church members the world over fast (go without food and water) for two meals. We give the money we would have used on food to our local leaders. This money is used to help the poor. We have been, and continue to be, blessed by this organized service. I am grateful for it.

**I am most grateful for the power of prayer. I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayers. I am grateful for the people in my life who offer prayers in our behalf--to help us find a job, to help us find a house, to help us overcome homesickness, to help us pay our bills. I am also grateful for people who live their lives in ways that they can be the answers to our prayers. We have been the recipients of the great blessings sought by others in our behalf. Thank you.

This scripture passage has taken on a whole new meaning to me:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:35-40)

I hope to live my life like the lives of those who have blessed my family so much.