Why I Give Thanks

This post was written by Keely Meagher who was a Kids Club Staff in Cheyenne River during the summer of 2014. 

South Dakota?! REALLY? These words of disbelief were all I could mutter when I found out my YouthWorks placement for the 2014 summer. Being from Minnesota, the Cheyenne River reservation seemed like a stone’s throw away from the place I call home, and I was initially not thankful to be serving there. I wanted adventure. I wanted to be challenged. Little did I know when August rolled around the Cheyenne River Reservation was where I will forever give thanks.

Amidst the controlled chaos of rez dogs, kids shoes on the roof, broken toilets and sinks, tantrums, Wal-Mart trips, thunderstorms, kids peeing in the bushes, running out of food at the community cookout, and the fireworks – God showed up. When the comforts of home and “normal” life were stripped away, I was left with nothing but thankfulness.

To me, thankfulness is a gift we get from serving others. It is an unending cycle with each person, my fellow YW staff, participants, adult leaders and – more importantly – the community members, being vital. “Thank you for serving.” “Thank you for letting us serve you.” “Thank you Lord for bringing us all together.”

Thanksgiving was an overflowing cup – a cup that was overflowing because of what Christ taught us. What he demonstrated for us. Something as simple as an outstretched hand can start this cycle and snowball into something great… something life-changing for so many.

Being home and back to “normal” life the thanksgiving doesn’t always come from an outstretched hand to others as it did so often this summer. It comes in way of prayer. I find myself sending up prayers of thanks for the things I once complained about. Thank you Lord for my upcoming test, those 100 pages of reading, deadlines and even APA citations. I give thanks because all of these things are blessings and they could easily slip away tomorrow. They mean that God gave me a brain and the ability to use it. If it is God’s will these “burdens” of today will turn into an opportunity to better serve others in the future.

There isn’t a day that I don’t think of the community I served in this summer. In this humble place, God was – is! – working. He chose to show me and also use me. He took my outstretched hands and led me down a path. A path that was full of uncertainty and an incredible amount of beauty. There also isn’t a day that I don’t give thanks….

Thank you Lord for the opportunities, for the love, for the ability, for family, for friends, for revealing yourself to me… thank you, thank you, thank you. The praises of thanksgiving come so easily, especially after being blessed to serve others in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.