The year I learned to be thankful for Thanksgiving

Are you thankful for Thanksgiving? I know this sounds like a strange question, but take some time to let it sink in. I had always grown up taking Thanksgiving for granted- it was a holiday that I enjoyed and looked forward to, and a good reminder to be thankful for what we have... but being thankful for Thanksgiving? I don't think I ever was- until yesterday.
If you put yourself in my shoes for a second I think you'll understand what I mean. You've just experienced three amazing months of adventure, learning, and fellowship with fellow believers in the land of Israel... you've hardly had time to even let it all sink in, and just when you are starting to, you look at the calendar and realize you only have two and a half weeks left. But part of you is secretly excited about going back to normal life, real food, family, a regular routine, etc. You're physically and emotionally worn out, and on top of that, your diet is severely limited because you can only take so much of the bland kosher food, and the moshav has decided to serve you GIZZARD for the past week. And then comes Thanksgiving. And you walk into a beautifully decorated room complete with tables and tables of every kind of delicious, NON-KOSHER Thanksgiving food imaginable. And you glance over to the never-ending dessert table and notice the coffee- not instant Israeli coffee or disgusting Turkish coffee. Authentic coffee, complete with real cream, which you have been craving for three months. You are filled with pure delight as you take a seat next to your IBEX family and join them in meditating on Psalm 136 and God's lovingkindness... and then a wonderful silence fills the room as everyone savors each bite.
Do you get my picture now?
But that's not all. In a year from now when someone asks me to share a past Thanksgiving memory, I won't just repeat the scenario I have just described for you. I'll tell them about the Thanksgiving that I went on a hike in Adullam. That's right, Adullam, where David and his four hundred men hid out from Saul. Right after our Thanksgiving meal one of our profs took about fifteen of us to Adullam (on the Southeast corner of the Elah valley, where David fought Goliath). It was a nice, laid back non-academic field trip, and we were all excited about the amazing view of the Shephelah. We spent some time exploring some of the caves in which David could have hidden, and discussing the psalms which were written during this time. Two things especially caught my attention: the fact that God chose to start the Davidic dynasty, through which His Messiah would one day come, in such a lowly, humble place with four hundred nobodies, and the fact that fifteen goyim (Gentiles) were now worshiping God with Hebrew songs. In many of the psalms that David wrote while he was fleeing from Saul (like Ps. 57), he speaks of the glory of God coming to the goyim. Little did he know that three thousand years later, Gentiles would be worshiping in that very same land. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
But of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without Thanksgiving leftovers. And so, after the hike we all gathered into the miklat (the "bomb shelter," ie., the IBEX hangout) for Turkey sandwiches. But not just any Turkey sandwiches. These had BACON in them. And if you know anything about the Jewish diet, you know that there is absolutely no pork whatsoever.
A delicious Thanksgiving meal, a hike in Adullam, BLT's... what more can anyone ask for?
So yes, this was the year that I learned to be thankful for Thanskgiving.
The End.