Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving last month. Americans will take a day to give thanks later this November. While news broadcasts are reminding us every day of all the things we have to fear, Thanksgiving Day reminds us to look at all the things we have to be thankful for.
Gratitude can feel like a naive response to the world, a way of ignoring the bad to focus solely on the positive. But giving thanks can be done in any circumstance—in fact, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we’re commanded to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
November is also the month when many churches and Christians mark the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, often referred to as IDOP. Christian brothers and sisters around the globe live out their faith in difficult and often dangerous situations, yet hold fast to God and give thanks for the mercies he provides despite the challenges they face.
Later this November we will begin another season of Advent as the church calendar turns to a new ecclesiastical year. This season can remind us of our greatest reason to give thanks: God’s great salvation story into which he has invited us.
Here are two stories of the many ways God is working through his people to bring healing and reconciliation, glimpses of his greater work of healing and redeeming the whole of creation, reconciling it to himself through Christ.
Honduras: Making Strides in Child Nutrition
By Laurisa O'Brien, World Renew
Lourdes, 25, has always cared deeply about the health of her young son, Kerin. In her area of rural Honduras, many parents struggle to access the health care needed to give their children the healthiest possible start to life. Poverty, lack of nutritious food, inadequate feeding practices, and other challenges can lead to increased child malnutrition in these communities.
Lourdes and her husband live a very busy life. He drives a moto taxi, which is their main source of income, and she takes care of the many tasks involved in running a home. For a long time, Lourdes would take 4-year-old Kerin to a health center outside their community—and often these trips were challenging.
“During the rainy season or when I felt sick, I wasn’t able to walk all the way there. Sometimes my husband would help me take the child, but when he was busy, I had to walk by myself,” she explained. “I made the effort because I care about my child’s development, but it was very difficult.”
When Lourdes learned about a local program facilitated by World Renew’s local partner, Diaconia Nacional, she jumped at the chance to be trained in monitoring and improving her son’s health.
Lourdes and Kerin have been blessed by local nutrition and learning programs.
Through this program, Lourdes and other mothers have been encouraged to share their concerns, especially regarding childcare and personal care.
“These learnings help us overcome our lack of knowledge about certain topics that sometimes we’re embarrassed to talk about, but I have realized it’s normal and I can speak openly about what bothers me,” she said.
Other key steps for Lourdes were gaining access to vitamins and deworming practices and learning how to monitor Kerin’s weight and height. Tracking his growth and development has made her feel more confident in preventing potential health issues and planning for his future needs.
Lourdes is an eager learner who finds that the training sessions help her take her mind off household chores and give her a chance to relax. She has been inviting other mothers to participate in these sessions.
“I wish there were more organizations like this coming to our communities, teaching us to work for the common good,” she said.
“I am very grateful that this program came to this forgotten community and brought us a ray of hope to keep going. I hope our community also makes good use of these great resources, because we often feel without direction. God bless you always.”
Gratitude for Reconnecting: On-the-Land Learning Events
By members of the Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee
Gratitude is often born from the simple joy of reconnecting—with one another, with creation, and with the land itself. In our journey toward Indigenous reconciliation, On-the-Land Learning offers a unique, place-based space to step outside classrooms and sanctuaries and step into forests, fields, and gathering spaces. Guided by Indigenous leaders, these immersive experiences invite Christian Reformed Church congregants and leaders to learn with local Indigenous communities rather than just about them, replacing distance and stereotypes with real, lasting relationships.
Reflecting on the foundational spirit of these gatherings, Adrian Jacobs, senior leader for Indigenous Justice and Reconciliation, said: “When my Haudenosaunee people first met Europeans in the Dutch encounter of 1613 we understood they wanted to establish a trading relationship with us. We, however, invited the Dutch into the treaty kind of relations we made with other Indigenous nations. This meant we wanted to establish good relations between us as peoples and a good relationship with the land. We knew that this idea was embraced at first but got lost in the developing colonial experience. On-the-Land-Learning brings CRC folk back to the land for the Indigenous people of the land for a reintroduction to this idea. We get a chance to make friends again, which is what reconciliation means. Hearing stories and eating together is how friends are made.”
A group gathered in Langley, B.C., for an On-the-Land Learning experience in September.
When participants step onto the land with Indigenous hosts, listen to stories, and share meals together, hearts are filled with deep gratitude. One participant reflected, “I was deeply moved by the manner in which the Indigenous leaders engaged with us: postures filled with graciousness and gentleness.”
By listening without filters, learning through both Reformed and Indigenous lenses, and experiencing the beauty of God’s creation side by side, we give thanks for every moment that brings us back to this foundational vision of peace, friendship, and good relations.