On Thursday people all over America will gather together
to celebrate Thanksgiving. The
obligatory question always arises. What are you thankful for this year?
I saw a “friend’s” post on Facebook and without naming
names or providing exact quotes. They basically stated that they are “so over
this holiday”. They said they are
thankful & see family every day already, the food blows, people will judge
my food contribution, and something about an animal carcass as a center piece
disgusts them. They ended their thoughts with a hashtag something like eff
Turkeyday.
First off: I was EXTREMELY tempted to comment “______,
you’re not invited to Thanksgiving.” You know, short and to the point. I don’t know this person that well and no,
they are not coming to my house.
(Confession: I
friended a lot of people when I was still drinking. I had some wild nights
sharing on Facebook over the years, while under the influence too. I think all those posts have been deleted. I
hope.)
Second: I thought it ironic that they said the “food blows”
and then complained that someone would judge their contribution.
Third: Animal rights can be passionate issue for some
people. However, I’ll go with Bible on this one:
Genesis 9:2-3 says “And the
fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every
bird of the air, on all that move on the
earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that
lives shall be food for you. I
have given you all things, even as the green herbs.”
As for “unclean”
animals, those food restrictions are gone with the New Testament (see Acts 10).
So we are
having Turkey, or Ham, or Lasagna, or Ziti, or whatever (10 alternative Thanksgiving
Dinners. Yikes: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/20/thanksgiving-alternatives-break-tradition_n_6182010.html.)
If you are a guest, deal with it and keep your
petty concerns to yourself!
Dinner is a
2pm! Glad you could make it!.....uh…
Whoa, I
went Biblical there……anyway.
The most
distressing thing about my “friend’s” post was the blasé attitude that they had
regarding being thankful and the subtle inference that “Thanksgiving is the day
we are thankful for family!”
Now I love
my family. They drive me crazy at times and disappoint and frustrate me
continually so I can understand where this attitude may arise from. For
instance, My son, Brennan, is extremely bright but has somewhat of an
anti-authoritarian streak in him and chose today to misbehave in school so on
the cusp of the holiday where we are supposed to gather together and be
thankful (for Family!) I have to address a discipline problem. At the time I most want to reflect on how
much I have in regards to family, I just had to remind myself how “blessed” I
am with wild teenagers!
(Actually,
my kids are not perfect but they could be far worse. Truth is they are bright, obedient, healthy,
humorous, and “good” kids. )
So I get
it. Family is the original F word but we
must remind ourselves of another word that begins with F: Funeral. My wife, Michele, had similar complaints
regarding her parents, Arthur and Mary, and how they drove her crazy. Although divorced and living separate lives for
over 40 years, Mary and Arthur both died within 6 months of each other in
2011. Michele feels the loss of their
absence in her life every day, especially during the holidays.
So although
family may drive you crazy, if you have some that you can spend the day with be
thankful. When you look at the faces
gathered around your table, know that one day their chair will be empty and
they will be gone from your life forever.
For fun
make a list of those you would like to see gone first!
Okay, being
thankful for family can be a big part of the holiday but it is not the only
thing you can be thankful for. We can be
thankful for so many things in our lives: like our friends, our livelihood, our
pets, our health, etc. I was going to share a link to a list of
things to be thankful for but I will not subject you to some of the saccharine delights
I saw (“Big piles of leaves you’re never too old to jump in!” Attention seniors: you may be too old to jump
in!).
The bottom
line is all about perspective. When approaching
Thanksgiving, let’s lose the attitude and try to find gratitude. This world is broken. There is pain, suffering, and death all
around us. However, God made the world a
beautiful place. We have to take time to stop and look around us and see the beauty.
We have to be grateful for the experiences of pleasure that we have known and
still enjoy. We should not only do this
on a Thursday in November. We should do this continually.
This is
going to be the first Thanksgiving that I am not hungover or drunk for since I
was a child. Since surrendering myself
to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, I have found the way to change my perspective
to one of continual gratitude. I pray
every day to the Lord who loves me. I bask in the forgiveness that Jesus paid
for with his life and live to honor and glorify Him. I am not perfect and need to reorient myself
to this perspective quite often but as I walk further in this journey with
Christ, I don’t have to go as far to get back on track.
So, what am
I thankful for? I am thankful for every
person, place and thing that was part of the journey that led me to the saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Our lives
are journeys. If you have known love in this world, you have much to be
thankful for. Be thankful for what you have and for those you love.
If you want
to know love like no other, pray for Jesus to come into your life and be your
Lord and Savior.
John
3:16-17: 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God
did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved.”
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who reads
this. Thank you to all my friends,
family, loved ones, and acquaintances for being part of my journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.