The morning sun greets you, whispering, “It’s Thanksgiving!!Time to get up, sleepyhead!!” You yawn, stretch your arms, whisper a heartfelt “Thank You” to the Almighty and you’re off! You walk through your morning routine a little faster than usual, anticipation driving every step because there’s so much to do!! The morning is a blur, but all is ready at precisely the right time. Your family arrives exactly when they’re supposed to, dressed in their finest clothing. Everyone hugs, exchanging warm smiles and laughter. The finishing touches now in place, you announce dinner is ready and immediately, everyone converges on the long wooden table draped with a perfectly pressed, white linen table cloth adorned with flickering fall candles and colorful dishes of the season. Without a word, everyone quietly bows their head and Grandad says a perfect blessing and then skillfully carves the perfectly cooked turkey into perfect slices to hand out to his perfect family.
Wow. Quite a story, huh? But is that really how things are going to go down? I’m not naive enough to think so. Instead…
–One word: STRESS
–People aren’t going to get along
–Something about the food isn’t going to go according to plan.
–You don’t have a warm, loving family or maybe your family are the last people you want to celebrate anything with.
–This will be the first holiday season without someone you care about and you miss them…a lot.
–There doesn’t seem to be anything to be thankful for
–You and God aren’t even on speaking terms.
Ugh…even if you end up eating lukewarm pancakes by yourself at IHOP today, try something for me? Consider anything for which you COULD be thankful…we all have something. Might be that you’re even still breathing after a tough year or there’s this little child with an irresistible smile who follows you everywhere. It might be the meager job you do have or the time you still have with a loved one who is terminally ill.
Point is…there is always something you can thank God for if you consciously choose to. That’s the hard part…to consciously choose to be thankful. When you approach this day (or any other day) from that angle, God meets you there. Even though it may not make logical sense, your thankfulness for one thing will lead to thankfulness for another and another, if you stick with it. Pretty soon, the dysfunctional Thanksgiving you started with will become as it should. It will no longer be about the people, food, things or expectations around you, but about you and God being together. Friends, that’s what Thanksgiving was meant to be…
Don’t forget to save me a piece of pecan pie…
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