Thanks Be To . . .

I love Thanksgiving. The turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the green bean casserole, the dinner rolls, the pie – the pie. I do love me some pecan pie. The football games all weekend long. The getting together with family and friends. I think it is one of the best holidays we have.

Typically, when I was growing up we went to my grandparents’ house. They lived in the same city I did but they lived on seven acres – inside the city. They had this wonderful, huge forest of a backyard. My brothers, cousins and I would run around and play football or other sorts of games outside with their black lab Happy. If it was really cold my grandparents would have a great fire going in their enormous fireplace in the living room. And I would sit on the hearth and let my back get really hot where it stung to touch it. (I wanted to see if my shirt would burst into flames but I usually could not stand the heat long enough to find out.)

Dinner was served around the formal dining table. My grandmother used all her “good china” and silver. We drank water out of silver goblets. Goblets! That was what princesses drank out of in the olden days of kings and castles. I loved being fancy. The table was so beautiful and long and everyone fit around it. I didn’t have to eat at a “children’s table.” When we would have Thanksgiving at our house the dining table didn’t fit everyone and I was always put at the kids table, usually in the hall – even as an adult. (That's what happens when you're a middle child.) There was always lots of love and laughter around the Thanksgiving dinner table.

A completely different but equally warm and wonderful Thanksgiving is one I celebrated about a decade ago with a dear group of friends. We took a trip to the Hill Country area of Texas. We stayed in a motel retreat next to a river. It was cold and perfect. We made a hodge-podge motel kitchen Thanksgiving feast. It was wonderful. We sang carols at the outdoor fire pit. We played touch football – because its Thanksgiving and you have to play football – it’s in the holiday rule book. I visited my old camp, we canoed – of course there was the requisite falling in the freezing water, there was short-sheeting of the beds. This was a wacky, wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, full of memories and laughter and reasons to give Thanks.

That’s what I love about the holiday. It’s for all comers. No one is left out. It’s not “religious” and thus leaving out those who don’t practice a particular faith. It’s not about politics or past wars or past presidents or co-opted by the retailers. (They have kindly waited until the next day, lovingly referred to as “Black Friday.”) It is a day to stop the madness, gather with those you love, invite those who have no one or want to begin a new tradition and break bread together and give Thanks.

I will give Thanks for the good friends, the devoted family, the deep love, the constant support, the ever-present laughter, the big ears, the broad shoulders, the strong arms, the soft hearts, the kind spirits, and the enduring patience and faith I received this year. Blessings, each and every one. Gifts bestowed to me through the grace of my Heavenly Father. He will have an honored seat at my Thanksgiving table.

My basket is full to the brim and overflowing with blessings. There have been days when Thank You were probably the last words coming out of my heart. But the truth is I can’t think of one thing I would change. (Well maybe one teeny tiny little thing.) Everything has brought me to this now, to this moment. And my heart is full of love, and light, and peace. And that along with my wonderful family, dear friends, good health (whew that nasty cold thing is long gone, yippe), great dog and crazy bird is more than a girl deserves.

Blessings come small and blessings come large and they come everyday in a thousand different ways. And blessings come to everyone. God does not withhold His bounty from anyone. There is always something for everyone to be thankful for. Thanksgiving is a holiday that brings all people together. It knows no boundaries. And that is how it should be. Everyone is invited to the Thanksgiving table. The table is huge with plenty of room and no one sits at the “kids” table.

Would we find God breaking bread at any other kind of table?


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