A Happy Meal

Today I'm excited because we just spent five glorious days away.

A much-needed break from the hustle and bustle.

Celebrating family.

In the great outdoors.

It's a twenty-year tradition, to leave home over Thanksgiving break and spend some time a few hours down the road in the Texas Hill Country. 

Hiking.

Swimming in the Comal River.

Fishing.

Napping.

Playing cards.

Shopping.

This caught my eye on this year's outing: 

I've never heard it said like that, but I believe it's true. 

I've watched grace change people's lives.

I know that this Thursday it made a difference in ours.

We decided to enjoy an early Thanksgiving meal this year, so we drove up to the Golden Corral shortly after they opened. The line stretched out the door, but wasn't as long, we didn't think, as it was last year when we ate after our hike. An elderly man got in line right behind us. By himself. After a few minutes, I invited him into a conversation by asking if he graduated from A&M, a pretty easy guess since his shirt sported its colors and logo. I told him that Jacob was a student there now, and we visited about Aggieland for a bit. We stepped into his story for a spell and learned some things about our new friend, most significant was that he had recently lost his wife of 34 years. As we neared our turn at the cash register, I wondered if it'd be weird to ask him to sit with us. It was Thanksgiving, after all, and he was all alone. And then, as if John were reading my thoughts, he asked if we ought to invite that Aggie to eat with us. So, we did. And as we were about to sit down, he told us he said as he entered the restaurant, "It's just you and me today, Lord." He thanked us for including him and offered to say grace. So we circled up with Morris at the Golden Corral, we held hands, and we prayed.

Together. 

Grace.

It changes everything.

Speaking of happy meals, if you want a creative twist for your next collaboration, here's a fun resource we made. Print these on card stock and laminate them to use when you want to randomly group students. (There are 3 sets of 36 cards, so feel free to share with 2 friends.) Want a foursome? Group them by restaurant. Want pairs? Let students find someone with a matching item. Want a bigger group? Have all of the burgers, fries, toys, or shakes, for example, work together. Click on the picture to download. How else would you use these grouping cards?