The Thankful Lady

This is what my family calls "The Thankful Lady."  She has always hung in our kitchen, reminding us to be thankful for our food.  It is what some would call a "sacred object," not in the sense that we worship it, but because it has special meaning for my family.
     Now that my parents are packing up to leave Bongolo for good, it is one of the things I will keep, because it reminds me of something important.
     I think sacred objects are especially important to missionary kids because we move around so much.  I think it is important to have a few special things to take with me to new places, to remind me where I come from and who I am.
     Besides the Thankful Lady, I have a small plastic gecko from my brother Jeremy that goes with me wherever I go.  I stick it up on the wall to remind me of home, where geckos abound.  Another sacred object is "Panga Man," a 6-inch wooden carving my brother Josh made for me when he was in high school.
     My move to Gabon two years ago was unplanned and unexpected, so almost all my sacred objects got left behind in Cambodia.  That is one of the reasons I am going back this summer, to sift through my stuff and find the little things that remind me of home wherever I go.