Thankgiving

Listen to a story: "Every year on Thanksgiving afternoon...in a county several counties away...the legendary Turkey Uncle makes his annual ride-around on his magical four-wheeler to try to encourage everyone inside the house to come outside, away from their napping spots, to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. The family laughs to see such a sight, then half of them come outside, and half of them find a football game to watch." Well, that's how my Thanksgiving Story would begin if I wrote a Thanksgiving Story. It's not made up. From there it would turn back the clock a couple of days and describe family gathering from different parts of the state, catching up over meals, a campfire, and boardgames at the dinner table. I really do have a beloved family member who occasionally likes to put a turkey decoy on his head to make everyone laugh. And I'm not sure that the four wheeler has any special powers, but I remember that moment as feeling magical. What I love about thanksgiving is that it is not (so far, in my experience) about buying the right products; it is about spending time with loved ones. Even (and maybe especially) the ones who do goofy stunts to get the rest of the family or friends moving around. Thanksgiving is a national holiday, not a church holiday, so I get to spend time with family I don't always get to see. The almost-mid-week holiday tends to interrupt a whole week in one way or another, and, in effect, creates the space we really need to stop being busy in our day-to-day lives to be thankful. In that way, it is very religious. The word religious means literally to "re-connect," and being thankful is about reconnecting with what is important in life. It is about recognizing our freedoms, our relationships, and our health and saying "Thank you" in one way or another.When we get busy in our day to day lives sometimes we allow things to get in the way of being thankful, of living "good news" lives of thanksgiving, and this is an opportunity to reset.

If you are still with me, let me go out on a limb here and invite you to take a quick inventory of how you spend your free time, and how you spend your thoughts. Lately, I have been part of several conversations of the, "The world is going to hell in a hand basket" sort. It's a mindset to carry around. My guess is that those individuals listen to lots of other people who are telling them that message. If you have accidentally gotten into the habit of listening to lots of bad news about the world, maybe this Thanksgiving could be an opportunity to rest, or take a sabbath from those sources, and listen to some Good News. Pick up the Bible and read it, instead of tuning into the news one night a week. Walk away from the computer and go play with your children, or offer to watch the children of a friend while they go out.
You and I get to choose how we spend our free time (Thanks be to God), and the process of being thankful for the good things in life (a good news practice) leads me to want to do more things for which I can be thankful. Another way to move from bad news to good news is to simply do something good. Don't talk about it, just go and serve at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, or food pantry. Go take care of some animals at the ARK. Step away from the worry machine and participate in some Kingdom of God work. Imagine the life you would be even more thankful for, and make your life look like that (hint: it doesn't include more stuff.)

"Turkey Uncle" has taught me a lot about being thankful over many years of fire-side chats. He's one of the most thankful and faithful people I know. He also knows not to take himself or anyone else too seriously. He always reminds me, in his own way, to be religious, or to reconnect. We reconnect as we sit by the fire. I reconnect with my son Eli when I take a few days off work. I reconnect with good food at a table full of family. In all of that, I reconnect with God, who is waiting in those good news moments. Waiting for us to stop worrying and start participating in the Kingdom of God which (as Jesus said) is at hand. Your hands and my hands. Happy Thanksgiving.