Manna (A Guest Post By Kimberly Coyle)

‘As your days, so shall your strength be.’ Deuteronomy 33:25b

This year, I refused to order the turkey. My plan was to pass off a turkey purchased from the frozen section at the supermarket as a fresh one. Unfortunately, my husband, chief preparer and cooker of said bird, caught on to me before I could follow through. He must have sensed that after the Great Turkey Debacle of 2010, I wasn’t ready to tackle the butcher’s counter anytime soon. 

To be perfectly honest, the turkey incident last year was less of a debacle, and more like the culmination of every frustrating and embarrassing experience I’ve had since moving to Switzerland. I don’t speak German. The butcher doesn’t speak English. Throw in a surly attitude (or two), and you have the gist of the situation.  

We moved to Switzerland nearly two years ago, and while it sounds romantic to live in Europe near those famous Alps, it has been challenging with a great heaping side of turkey. It is an exercise in self-control and stick with it-ness. It is wonderful and horrible and almost always confusing. And it is building my character daily. 

At Thanksgiving, we typically give thanks for the big things. We mentally shuffle through the pages of the year and thank God for the great surprise in March, the healing in June, or the job promotion in September. We are grateful, and that is good. But, what about the year that is filled with sickness? Or the year of heartache? Or the year where you said goodbye to everything that feels safe and comfortable? 

As I look back on this last year, I must choose how to see it. I can look at it through the lens of loss. I miss my friends, my family, my church. I miss the mall and small talk in line at the grocery store. I might see it through the lens of stress. Every day has a new challenge, another situation to stumble through, or another experience where I feel ridiculous or misunderstood. Or, I can choose to see it through the lens of provision. My husband has a job that provides for us to live in this beautiful country. My children are firmly planted and growing strong. God has brought new friends, crazy experiences, and enough stories to fuel my writing for a lifetime. 

This Thanksgiving, I won’t stop with the big things. I will give thanks for today, for provision, for daily bread. This bread is a feast of grace that fills me with exactly what I need right now. It strengthens and nourishes me for the day that unfolds into the unknown, the day that I feel the loss, the roofer can’t understand a word I’m saying, or the butcher won’t give me my turkey. 

His bread is enough for today. Don’t wait for Thanksgiving. Open your arms daily to the abundance, gather, and receive it. It won’t keep for tomorrow.

~~~

Kimberly lives in Switzerland with her husband and favorite little people. She copes with life’s biggest questions by drinking lots of tea, blogging and God’s grace.  

You can find her at her blog, Find Time For Tea.