Thanksgiving 2016

Growing up we took Thanksgiving super seriously.  When I was very young, we took time to pray individually around the dinner table, arranged beautifully at one of two times a year we crafted a centerpiece, each naming something we were thankful for.  We (and when I say we, I mostly mean my mother) took pride in cooking almost everything from absolute scratch, short of raising the turkey and growing wheat for flour.  The cornbread stuffing was started days before hand, the homemade biscuits and cornbread crumbs set aside in a huge stainless steel mixing bowl to dry out enough to absorb rich stock and sage when the time came.  Our rolls were handmade that morning; the glorious smell of which I’m sure must have wafted itself down the block.  I still remember the year I decided to paint my fingernails on Thanksgiving morning and my mother was irate; it messed up the Thanksgiving smell. 

 There was green bean casserole and freshly made brown gravy; a jellied cranberry sauce and a cranberry relish.  There was buttermilk pie, pecan and pumpkin.  We used my mother’s ornate blue china and all the utensils; one of the rare occasions we pulled out the tea spoons and salad forks.   We polished and placed silver candlesticks.  Sometimes there was spiced tea. 

All of my youth I looked forward to Thanksgiving as one of my favorite holidays, mostly because I was proud of our handcrafted meal.  If you know anything about me at all you know I love taking things from start to finish, making things from scratch. 

Fast-forward to me as an adult.  I don’t know that I truly grasped the weight of the holiday until I was much, much older.  You see some holidays I have exhibited and truly felt sheer joy and exuberance.  Sometimes I have had it all together and organized and am in the position to enjoy the true fellowship of family. 

Some years however, have found my little family in a difficult and stressful time.  One in particular, two years ago, we were really struggling and it was hard to muster any excitement over anything, our current circumstances being so dark and foreboding.    Worse than that, our circumstances were not something thrust upon us unsuspectingly.  We were in a terrible financial situation and it was no one’s fault but ours.  It was truly self-inflicted injury from which we suffered shame and remorse.  Worse, we truly had to rely on the help of loving family to get us through our mistakes. 

So, this year, my heart is truly thankful.  I’ve seen God take our mistakes and our misery and turn them into strength, wisdom and diligence.  That’s life, though, I guess.  We will all have years that are absolutely spectacular and others that are sub-par.  I think that’s part of why as a Christian it is crucial to thank God in everything and through every situation.  When we do that there is true beauty and joy in everything we do and everywhere we go, whether our walk is in shiny new boots or tennis shoes with holes.  I am truly thankful, from the hairs of my head, to the tips of my toes, down into the deep secret places of my soul. 

Things are good this year.  While my circumstances might not always be so, God is always with me and will never leave.  He’s with me in my blunders, in my successes and even in my from-scratch food lovingly made for the people I love. 

I have a full pantry, a loving husband who always has my back, 3 amazingly strong and smart kids, a silly crazy dog, a comfortable house, a good job, a solid financial game plan that allows for generosity and being proactive and above all else, redemption, salvation, Grace and Mercy.