Thanksgiving in Ashland, VA

Where there's a need, there's a good deed.

That’s the lesson I've learned from our Ashland Community Thanksgiving Dinner.  

Before our first Thanksgiving Dinner (2008), local businesses donated turkeys, stuffing, desserts, flowers, coffee and more. We had children color place mats. Someone prepared fresh flower arrangements for each table. 

On the day before, we cooked and carved ten turkeys, and decorated the fellowship hall. The next morning at seven, we laid out about 400 yeast rolls to rise. At eight, a dozen or so folks showed up to peel 100 pounds of potatoes.  

Then a surprise knock on the door stopped everything.

A young family of four asked if they could wait inside the warm church. They had spent the extremely cold night in their van because they had no funds for a hotel room. There's the need.

And then the good deeds started flowing. We welcomed them. Someone provided them breakfast. Someone entertained their children. A young teenage girl went home and brought Christmas gifts already wrapped for the two young girls. She had purchased these gifts for family members, but decided to share with this needy family instead. A small amount of money was collected to help them on their journey after they ate the best Thanksgiving meal ever.  My step-father said, "Even if no one else is helped today, we're right where God wanted us this morning—to help this family."

The next year we decided to promote on a wider scale—apartments, television, businesses, trailer parks, social services, hotels. Our goal is to truly blanket the Town of Ashland with invites to this Community Dinner. There's the need. And more good deeds happened. More folks stepped forward to help with promotion. 

One year we hoped to send a small bag of fruit home with our guest. There's the need. A local business—I never heard of—donated money. There's the good deed.

Last year my step-father added ham to the menu. There's the need. Another local business stepped forward to donate all seven hams. There's the good deed.

This has played out over and over. Need followed by a good deed. Every time it happens I'm amazed. 

And then I'm reminded that this is not about us. This meal is how God provides for His people and how He allows us the honor to participate with Him.   

After all, if He starts a good work, He will see it through. He plants a seed, tends to the needs by allowing us the opportunity to share our good deeds. Generous businesses and His people coming together to help others. Now that's a blessing, for sure.

Speaking of blessings, check out next week's post about Thanksgiving's Double Blessing.  

Living the Garden Life, Tammy Van Gils plants words and sprouts insightful stories blooming with hope. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Word Weavers International, and The Christian Writers Hub. Enjoy a visit to her Authors Facebook Page, Pinterest and Twitter @Tammyvangils. Subscribe to her blog, Writing Hope for the Everblooming Life and enter a monthly drawing for a free book. She's honored to be a Contributor to When Nature Sings Devotion Book, Worthy Publishing Group Dec 2016 and to be a  guest blogger for Guideposts- A Military Mom Struggles With God's Will, Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference - Are you a Warrior Writer? And How to Grow into an Outstanding Word Showing Writer.