It’s time to pull out those Holiday traditions. Have you already started your “list” of things to do? Normally I never make a list. If I do, I usually leave it sitting on the kitchen counter, but this year is a little different. Our “plans” for Thanksgiving have been the talk of our family for weeks now, and we still have not set anything in stone. We have company coming!!! My niece and nephew, along with their families will be flying in the Sunday before Thanksgiving and staying until the Friday after. I must be honest and admit I almost dread it as much as I am excited for them to come. We are in our year of “first.” This is the first Thanksgiving without their mom, who went to be with Jesus last May. My first without my sister. Anyone reading this relate? Do you remember your season of “firsts”?
One of our Holiday traditions is that each person coming to dinner gets to choose their favorite dish and we make sure it is on our Thanksgiving table. I am praying that the 7 new dishes will be some that are already on the menu, or we may have to completely toss the scale (not a bad idea). Another tradition we have is that we all cook dinner together. We spend time around the kitchen laughing and “remembering when” stuff. It would be so much easier to shoo everyone out of the kitchen and let me cook, but then the memories would soon die out and it would just become another meal. Before we eat, we go around the table and say what we are most thankful for. After we eat, we are most thankful for the couch and whatever football game is the easiest to fall asleep to. The last tradition we have on Thanksgiving is to put up our Christmas tree together. The day on the calendar comes to a close, and we move on to the next set of traditions.
I am blessed to have a relationship with Jesus that does not require a special day to give Him thanks for His favor and mercies in my life. Because of the many hills and valleys of my life, I continually give Him thanks and praise every day. Not everyone has that kind of relationship with Him, which makes days like the last Thursday in November so important. If for nothing else, it is a reminder for everyone to stop and give thanks.
Psalms 100:4-5 (NLT)
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Where are you on your journey? What does your Thanksgiving Day look like? We make it sound so easy to be in a place of complete worship with gratitude pouring out of our hearts. But what about those that are struggling right now? Finding anything to be thankful for is like trying to catch the wind in your hands. You are stuck in a hallway. The door behind you has closed, and the one before you has not opened. Giving thanks seems to be stuck in your throat…
No one knows better than Jesus what you’re going through. It’s a season that will change in the blink of an eye. You may not believe it, but there are huge blessings to being in the hallway: rest, peace, and time with your Savior. Your traditions might look a little different this year, but embrace them, and find memories that will bring light. To be honest I would love to have my Christmas tree up already. I don’t (but I might) because my husband thinks it would knock out Thanksgiving. I don’t believe that because for most of us, it isn’t just a day. It is a way of life.
May your holiday be filled with “new” reasons to give thanks.
RevDeb