Ways to Be Grateful

I’m sitting in an upstairs bedroom as the smell of pumpkin pie wafts up the stairwell. Tomorrow the family will arrive, starting around noon: not just relatives, but friends and tag-alongs and people I’ve never met before who will be family for one day. Thanksgiving unites us like no other holiday. No matter what one’s race or ethnicity or family situation or religion or background, when it’s time to say the blessing, every head bows. However rough the year has been, however hard it may be to count blessings, everyone at least tries to feel grateful.

Believers in Christ need no special day to feel grateful (though we occasionally need a nudge in the ribs to be reminded!). As the old song goes:

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing;

All things are mine since I am His–How can I keep from singing?

But we enjoy a special day as much as anybody, and even more because our blessings last longer than pumpkin pie. At RedeemedReader, we received some heartwarming memories and suggestions in response to our Cheryl Harness contest, and it’s our pleasure to share them with you.

Many of you participate in the happy custom of going around the table to share what you’re most grateful for, but Kim added a special touch: “This year we are going to also have each of our family members tell what they are thankful for about each family member (our kids have not been acting very grateful for their siblings lately!).” Andie adds, “We go around a table that has 20 or more people and name something specific we are thankful for from the past year. This is often enlightening; I look forward to hearing my own children’s responses and often leads to further conversation with aunts and uncles. The heart of our Thanksgiving!” Tina extends the thankfulness: “My favorite thanksgiving tradition is to create a ‘Reasons to Be Thankful’ list from November 1st until Thanksgiving focusing on the character of God and His goodness to us.”

Family is a big part of the celebration, of course, both past and present. Growing up in Texas, I remember Thanksgiving as a reliably beautiful day: sunny, brisk, high temps in the upper sixties or lower seventies. If dinner was at our house, my cousins and I would play hide-and-seek in the fabulous vacant lot next door, where the grass grew tall and the snakes had long since retreated underground.

Lydia recalls, “My favorite tradition when I was growing up was going to my grandparents farm and playing around while my dad, uncles, and grandfather made homemade budoin [I want to know what that is!] and sausage. Very fun and smelled fantastic. The farm and grandparents have passed. Now that I have my own family, my favorite tradition is after the big meal when my sons and their dad and uncles go into the cul-de-sac to play football and frisbee at their grandparents house. It’s fun to watch their competitive spirit get challenged by the men in our family.”

Wednesday evening (or Thursday morning) Thanksgiving services are a big part of the holiday for some readers. Such as Forrest: “It’s one of our favorite services of the year.” And Michelle has some sweet memories: “Growing up as a pastor’s daughter, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition was the service on Thanksgiving morning in the little church up on the hill next to our parsonage. We sang all the sweet old hymns in the Thanksgiving section of our hymnbook, and spent most of the service taking turns witnessing to God’s blessings in the year past. It always put a special glow on the feast that followed.”

Speaking of feasts, Stephanie writes, “My favorite family tradition is preparing a great meal together in the kitchen with loved ones and then relaxing to enjoy it together. (Of course the men have to get in a little bit of football as well.)” And from our own Emily: “I think my most important Thanksgiving tradition is “gobbling”. That is, I try to eat as much pumpkin pie as fast as possible before any one else can have any. . . (Not sure that’s the kind of response you were looking for.)” But it’s one of my favorite traditions, too.

Some families add a unique twist to their celebration. Johanna’s family is looking ahead: “My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is starting the day with a hike to find and cut down our Christmas tree!” And here’s one I like a lot, from Cathy: “We make a “Charlie Brown” tree out of a 3? branched stick in a vase of sand or marbles. I get construction paper leaf die cuts from the teacher store (the industrious or crafty can make them). From the Sunday before Thanksgiving to the Saturday after (We like to keep Thanksgiving and not let Advent begin before it really does!), we each put at least one leaf on our tree, writing one thing we are thankful for on the paper leaf. We usually do this at meal times and keep the tree on or near the table.”

But Jessica ties the traditions together with what they really mean. After explaining that she loves serving Puerto Rican food along with turkey and trimmings, she writes, “My mother is Puerto Rican and came to live in VA as a teenager and for a while was ashamed of her heritage as a Latino person. Eating the Puerto Rican food is not just delicious, but it is also a reminder of our family’s story and how God brought my mom to a place where she heard and received the gospel– thus changing the trajectory of our family, her grandkids, etc etc. We are so very grateful for that and for how God has loved us even before we loved Him.”

I love giving books away, but choosing a winner is my least favorite part of sponsoring a contest. However, for reminding us of the chief reason we have to be thankful, Jessica is our winner. Thanks to everyone for participating, and I think I can speak for Emily as much as myself that one of the main things we’re thankful for this year is our readers!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, everyone!

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