Thanksgiving

Those first settlers in America had some tough first  years in the "New World." Whenever I have travelled to the northeastern portion of our country in the colder months, I often wonder why settlers ever stayed there. I would have gotten back in the boat and travelled south and settled somewhere like, Charleston, SC or the Bahamas. I think the folks who settled there were smart. But with the harsh winters and struggling crops of those first northern settlers also came blessings and harvests. They eventually reaped the benefit of their labors and as a result, we have a holiday called Thanksgiving. It is truly gratitude inspiring when survival is replaced with security. 

We are thankful. We are thankful for all of you who pray and support us. We are thankful for all that God does through you because you are willing. We get emails and comments through the website. We receive letters and cards of encouragement and prayer. We are covered in prayers, some we see and some we don't, but God's grace sustains us through them all. One of our main prayer requests on the website is protection for our marriage. That prayer is being answered daily. Many times marriages can be destroyed by circumstances like ours. It has become common in adulthood that many of your friends are getting married around the same time and later start having babies around the same time and then many start getting divorced around the same time. We hurt for and with the friends we have that are going through that. It reminds us to become more reliant on the Lord for strength in our marriage. Your prayers have contributed to that strength. We are thankful for Macayla's remarkable life and how she has maintained as well as she has. We are thankful for Jacob and the little prophet of God that he is. God teaches us all the time through our children. We are thankful for our extended family that is constantly pouring support and love into our lives. We are thankful to our church families that pray and support us. Over the last few years, the body of Christ has helped to meet our physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Meals, prayer, housing, money, home improvements, hugs, letters and fellowship have all been used to bless our family. We recently received notice that a Sunday School class some friends of ours are a part of at First Baptist in Lincolnton, NC donated some money to the Virtual Toy Drive at Greenville Hospital in honor of Macayla. That was meaningful for us as it means that other kids will benefit as they face their own struggles in the hospital. 

Like the early settlers, we are inspired to gratitude as our survival mentality is being replaced by security. Security in Christ and His will for our lives. It is great when all things go the way you like, but that is not the world we live in. But the world we live in and the circumstances we are going through has taught us much. It will continue to teach us and grow us. We are thankful for all of you and we pray that Christ will bless you and that maybe He would work through Macayla's life in some way to draw more people to Himself. That is a legacy I pray for in Macayla's life. In short, we are giving thanks for Him, for her, our family and all of you.  

We love you, all. 

The Smoaks