Time for Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is a family holiday for me. While we do have the Turkey Trot Day School fundraiser the day before, Thanksgiving day and following is a time I enjoy stepping away from church activities. Since Christmas and Easter are very much church holidays and my energy is focused on our church family, it is nice not to have a church event during this American tradition, to slow down, and spend time with my family. 

That doesn't mean it is not a religious or spiritual day. Whether we are with my side of the family or Laura's, there is usually time to name thanksgivings. Those annual gatherings are markers in time, a way to pay attention to what is important in life. While we cannot slow down the swift passage of years, we can be present right where we are with family or friends and give thanks together. 

My extended family is awaiting the birth of a child. I can remember my nephew's first Thanksgiving in his parent's arms, then years at the kids table, and now he is becoming a parent. How did that time pass by so quickly that he went from a child to having a child? We take joy in those new lives around us. It is also true when we gather, that we feel the acute absence of those who have died. It is important to share both the joy and the lament, and to remember to give thanks for what we have here and now. 

One year,  after thanksgiving dinner, at my sister's ranch, we heard a vehicle circling the house. Someone peeked outside and then laughed out loud. We all stepped outside to see my brother-in-law riding a four-wheeler with a turkey decoy on his head. No one had time to take a picture (this was before the over-watchful presence of camera phones.) That memory is only a memory.  It marked that year and helps me remember who we are. 

Whether with family or origin or a chosen family, the passage of time, the experience of life brings us joys and laments, laughter and solemn time to reflect. One of the things that happens every year is our prayer before the meal. When the turkey is ready, and all the sides are set out, we join hands in big circle. We offer prayers of thanksgiving and memorial as we hold hands, and finally end with the table blessing we all know, "Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." That familiar prayer binds us together, reconnects us, and draws our families back together. Yes, we pray to have grateful hearts all year, yet, it helps to set aside a particular day to remember together, and create new memories as time flows along; For that I am thankful.


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