THANKSGIVING – November 24, 2005

THANKSGIVING – November 24, 2005

Thankful thoughts bring to mind the fact that thanks ought to be given to God everyday. It is always right and proper to give THANKS and PRAISE to Almighty God. How fitting then, was this Holiday, THANKSGIVING DAY, a time to be thankful to God.

For decades of years, I had prepared Thanksgiving Dinner at our home, my husband, our children, and my mother in attendance. We would gather ‘round our dining room table, pray Grace, then pass the platters family style and feast upon the delectable delights. The house would be filled with the scents and aromas of roasting turkey, sweet potatoes, hot pumpkin pie, and fragrant candles. The warmth of a fire burning in the fireplace enhanced the atmosphere. Soft-spun yarns were told and animated reactions were enjoyed by the spinners of tales. The children would laugh with glee. Happy times were had by all.

As the years unfolded, one by one the children left to form lives of their own and still we would gather here for the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Then it would be the grandchildren who would laugh with glee at what they would hear from their parents, the new spinners of yarns. Always the family gatherings were delightful.

The last few years, for which I am truly very thankful, is that our children would invite us to Thanksgiving dinner at their homes on Thanksgiving Day. My mother would accompany us and the sights and smells of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner would permeate their households, wonderful aromas wafting through their homes. I would take in those tempting scents, aromas and salivate.

This year Thanksgiving Dinner will be at my middle daughter’s home, Tracy’s and Lablu’s place sans my mother for the first time in about 40 years. It will be different this Holiday insofar as my mother is not here anymore having passed away in July 2005.The great consolation, however, is that I have every hope she is dining at the heavenly banquet this Thanksgiving Day and I am grateful the Lord has invited her to share in that great Feast.

There is much for which to be thankful. I am thankful I was born in the United States of America. I am thankful we are a free people. I am thankful we may worship as we desire. I am thankful my mother saw to it I was fed, clothed and schooled. I am thankful I did not have a father because it has helped me to overcome self-pity. I am thankful for being reared in poverty because it has helped me to appreciate the value of a dollar. I am thankful my mother agreed to have me Baptized because I came to know Jesus in my heart. I am thankful the nuns and priests nurtured me in my love of Jesus because it started an exciting journey from childhood until the present.

I am thankful I grew up knowing my grandfather because he helped color the image of a kindly caring father figure to me. I am thankful for my Uncle as I watched him father his son and stepdaughter. I am thankful my Aunt and Uncle permitted us to live with them for a couple of years since our apartment was destroyed by fire. I am thankful for the winter coat my Aunt resized to fit me because it kept me warm in the winter.

I am thankful for public transportation in getting to high school so I would not have to walk 2 or 3 miles daily. I am thankful for the part time office job I performed while still in high school. I am thankful for the office employment in an insurance company soon after graduation.I am thankful for having met my husband, dated, and married him. His humor was one of the traits that attracted me to him and to this day he still makes me laugh. I thank God for the gift of humor in the life of our family. I am grateful for the children we have as well as for the eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild we have. I am thankful for family gatherings where joy abounds.

Ultimately I am thankful to God for providing all of the blessings mentioned above and the innumerable ones unmentioned as well as the ones of which I am unaware. There is much for which to thank God. Firstly, all thanks be to God for our being in his mind’s eye from the beginning of time. We thank him for breathing life into each one of us, you and me. God loves us all perfectly. He loves one not more than the other. He is the lover of our souls and the keeper of the gate. His arms are open wide to enfold us inside.

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“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”Colossians 3:17

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God the Father has painted beautiful landscapes for us, rolling hills, majestic mountains, flowing streams, undulating rivers, golden plains, flowers of every kind and color, birds of the air, animals and mammals. He has sculpted white clouds, and rain clouds to water the lands. He has warmed the earth with the sun, dotted the night sky with stars and lighted the night with the moon. He has created the seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. He sends His blessings upon all of us in immeasurable ways.

Let us Thank God for everything as does Helen Steiner Rice in her own words:

“THANK YOU GOD, FOR EVERYTHING” Helen Steiner Rice

Thank you, God, for everything,the big things and the small.

For “every good gift comes from God”...the giver of them all.

And all too often we accept, without any thanks or praise,

The gifts God sends as blessings, each day in many ways.

And so at this Thanksgiving Time, we offer up a prayer...

To thank you, God, for giving us a lot more than our share.

First, thank you for the little things that often come our way,

The things we take for grantedbut don’t mention when we pray,

The unexpected courtesy, the thoughtful, kindly deed,

A hand reached out to help us in the time of sudden need.

Oh, make us more aware, dear God, of little daily graces

That come to us with “sweet surprise”from never-dreamed-of places.

Then, thank you for the “Miracles”we are much too blind to see,

And give us new awareness of our many gifts from Thee,

And help us to remember that the Key of Life and Living

Is to make each prayer a Prayer of Thanks and every day Thanksgiving

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and yours. I pray you and your families were blessed with the Lord’s provision in every area of your need. I pray your family enjoyed a wonderful repast at your table on THANKSGIVING DAY, 2005. May the Lord’s Grace, Blessings and Peace be upon you.

Mel Patterson, (c) November 2005