In my opinion, the best time of year for giving thanks is actually Christmas. I certainly have no beef (no pun intended) with Thanksgiving and heartily endorse its celebration, but if we focus on the true meaning of Christmas, then we should be convicted into giving thanks to God for everything He continues to do for us. We must not lose focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas being our recognition that God gave the world its greatest gift. That being the incarnation of God as the flesh of Jesus for the purpose of providing the way by which we can restore fellowship with God. In essence, Jesus was born so that He would die to redeem us from our sins and consequent death. Jesus is the ultimate kinsman redeemer as described in the Old Testament.
Christmas also provides the opportunity for reflection upon other general blessings in our lives. Coming back from Tanzania only emphasized how America is incredibly blessed of God. Tanzanians have virtually no access to health care due to poverty and a paucity of physicians, hospitals, and general health care professionals. Because of this, the general population still seeks out the care of “witch doctors” believing that this is better than no care at all. The few traditional hospitals they do have are desperately under funded, under staffed, and over worked. I was honored to be given a tour of Toulee hospital which is sponsored by the Anglican church and staffed by British physicians exemplified their struggles. This was a 300-bed hospital staffed by three physicians. The patient wards would accommodate 50-60 patients with their families. The Intensive Care Unit simply meant that patients were watched more closely with fewer patients per nurse. An example of their struggles was the fact that they had ventilators to provide advanced life support but the hospital could not afford to stock the endotracheal tubes necessary to connect the patients to the machines. This certainly makes me even more thankful for our having the very best health care in the world. Despite our significant problems, the poorest of our poor receive incredibly advanced health care according to world standards.
Our children have clothes, shoes, food, and have the opportunity to be formally educated. In contrast, the common sight in Tanzania was of children with tattered (if any) clothing, distended bellies from malnutrition and parasitic infections, and virtually no hope for a life better than their parents experienced. The majority of our children will be showered with gifts for Christmas. Any toy in Tanzania would be considered a great luxury. Our children turn up their noses if they receive clothing for Christmas. The East African children would see this as an honored gift, even with used clothing. Of course, the Christmas feasts most of us will enjoy could not even be imagined there.
Yes, we should be thankful as part of our Christmas celebration. I am now determined to lead my family I praising and giving thanks to our Lord for His love for us, His all-important sacrifice for us, and His incredible blessings that encompass all parts of the lives of our families. I am also determined to continue to work to demonstrate the love of God to the people of Tanzania so that they may come to enjoy the wonderful blessings that we enjoy. They certainly deserve it every bit as much as we do and I know that God expects us to share out of our abundance with those suffering here and around the world.
God bless you and have a very Merry Christmas.
Dr. Dan Edney
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