Syukur Allah. For He is good.

It’s Thanksgiving, albeit only two hours into this new day. I have not spent one Thanksgiving with my family since starting college, so it is nothing new to me to be without them. But now I find myself in a different country. It is not chilly and crisp in the air. There are no trees with a few colorful lingering leaves (if I’m in the South) or just enough snow on the ground to let you know that winter is almost here (if I’m Minnesota). Tonight, I was supposed to be doing my very favorite of all Thanksgiving activities. Baking pies. But when I turned on the gas to heat up the oven, the flame lasted for approximately 10 seconds before dying for good. Out of gas. So there is also no smell of pumpkin and apple and spices. No cooling pies on the counter. Instead of these few of my favorite things, I have many other rich and varied blessings in my life.

Syukur Allah untuk kasih karunia-Nya yang abadi.

God, Yahweh, Allah, Father. He has blessed me with countless things like the air I breath or the ability and the grace to learn and begin understanding the language of this new home of mine. This is so important to one who loves language and writing and sharing and reading like I do. I had never before realized just how much I took it for granted that I could glance at a sign and know exactly what it said. Or that I could walk into a conversation and know what was being said without any kind of context to help me understand. I pray that I never take it for granted again, or forget how it feels.


Syukur Allah untuk cintaNya sebagai besar sebagai laut.

Sometimes I wonder how He puts up with me, how He has so much patience to grow and mature me into a mighty tree planted by streams of Living Water (Psalm 1). I know that this is part of His character, and I am thankful that I do not worship some god in the style of the Roman or Greek gods. With the sins and passions and mistakes and rage and jealous fits of a human being. I am thankful that I did not have to create a god with my imagination, a god limited to my narrow mind and understanding. I am thankful that I do not understand all that is to understand about my God. That He continues to blow aside my walls and neat boxes built to hold my ideas of Him.

Syukur Allah karena aku ini saja manusia tapi Engkau kekasih aku. 

Praise God, for He is good. His mercy endures forever.