When you have The Longview, you understand the effort that it took for you to sit at this table. The smell of the turkey. Your favorite side. The glowing faces. Some with wrinkles, and others years away from crow’s feet around their eyes. The scene is magical. So much so that you just can’t help but be thankful.
In my case, The Longview is more than having the foresight to buy that frozen turkey at Publix a week ago.
It’s longer. It means Heinrick and Louisa exiting an unstable Germany. It means Kim’s parents, John and Sarah, leaving China as teenagers just before the communists were about to take over. Gold coins were sewn into garments. Oceans were crossed at great peril and discomfort. Other countries were short-term conduits. And then, finally, Lady Liberty!
This new life would not come easily. Cows were milked in the cold. Clothes were sewn, not bought. New languages were learned. Like your forefathers, they had The Longview. That is, the vision and guts to make consequential change for the good of descendants they would never know. I’m so thankful!
If you and I, too, have The Longview, that means we are also making decisions today that will benefit future generations.
We are thoroughly explaining our family values. We are doing our best to live out the examples set before us, even though we are flawed humans. And yes, we are saving and investing for our future financial security. And, for those who will come later. Faces we may never see.
I hope and pray that generations from now, our future families will still spend a day together in thanks for the bounty that our God and country have provided. I hope they are thankful for the freedom our troops have fought to protect. I hope they are thankful for the sacrifices that others before them have made. I pray they, too, have The Longview. As that turkey is placed on the table and everyone is seated, I hope they look into the glowing faces around the table, some with wrinkles and some far from it, and are thankful.
November 2023
Pictured above Heinrich, my great, great grandfather. Pictured below John Yang, Kim’s father at 10 years old, kneeling in a rice field in China.
