A Bittersweet Thanksgiving

Andy and I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving for a number of reasons.  Number one was a chance to rest and get away from work for a few days.  Number two was it’s my favorite holiday.  And number three was that we were going to see my family in Arizona!

Thanksgiving truly was wonderful.  I can’t tell you how sweet it was to be with my family once again, just enjoying being together.  We had a wonderful time together feasting, going to see Tangled, ice skating, shopping, and just plain “chillaxing” (as one of my 2nd graders puts it).  In some ways, it was just like old times, and in many ways it wasn’t.  I’m married now and my “home” is far away in Arkansas.  When it comes down to it, however, my last name may no longer be Flook, but I will always be one of the Flook girls.  We’re just all grown up now.

Well, almost…:)

 

Thanksgiving was a bit bittersweet this year too.  On Monday I got a call from Andy saying that his Granny Baker had been taken to the hospital.  I rushed home early from work to be there with them.  We wondered what God’s plan for all this was…were we still supposed to go to Arizona?  By Tuesday morning, however, Granny Baker was doing much better and we felt that we should go.  We were expecting her to be coming home sometime this coming week.  That was not to be.

On Thursday night, we got a call from Andy’s dad saying that Granny had passed away.  While we knew she was weak and were expecting this for a while now, it was fairly sudden and especially startling on Thanksgiving day.  I knew Andy wished he had been there…we all did.  We knew, however, that this was in God’s perfect timing…even if it seemed far from perfect to us.  It was hard to be happy and thankful when we were grieving at the same time.

One thing I am sure of, however.  Granny wouldn’t want us to be sad.  She would want us to be rejoicing that she is now in heaven with her Sweet Jesus, set free from the bonds of her feeble body.  I am sure she is dancing with him right now. :)

So, although Thanksgiving came with sadness this year, it also came with unspeakable joy.  I am thankful for every minute God has given me…even for times of grief.  God has ordained them all for His glory, and what more could I want than that?