Thankful Thanksgiving 11-23-17

It’s been far longer than I intended since I wrote here. In some ways, I miss it. But today is not the time for melancholy reflections. Today is Thanksgiving! Instead of being cynical about the amount of over-consumption and how silly it is that stores are opening for Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving afternoon, I should take a look at what I have to be thankful for.

This week in church one of our elders read the following:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

~ Melody Beattie ~

The phrase “It turns what we have into enough” echoed in my head. It reminded me of when I used to post Thankful Thursday lists every week, how eventually that deliberate act of gratefulness could turn a lousy day around, how keeping a running list in my head had me thinking of my blessings all week, how it made me see how much a change of perspective matters. I miss that.

The other phrase that stuck out was “It can turn a meal into a feast.” Of course, with Thanksgiving coming (and indeed, here already), everyone is thinking about the food. But it’s not the amount or quality of the fare that makes a meal into a feast – it’s gratitude and the company of family and friends. This year, for me, will be light on the “family” but heavy on the “friends.” I’m grateful to have friends here who are willing to do a potluck style Thanksgiving, so we can share the work and none of us has to eat alone. I’m grateful we can turn a shared meal into a feast.

I’ve been meaning to get back to writing for several months now, I even have a couple post drafts that are close to completion, but I just couldn’t get over the hump of “what do I say? How do I account for such a long gap?” So I’m grateful for the reminder that a thankfulness post on Thanksgiving is a perfect, low-pressure way to start again. I’m grateful for people who share inspiring quotes.

I’m also grateful for my mother, who gives good hugs, pretty Thanksgiving cards, and knows I like Goldfish crackers. 🙂 So many things to be thankful for today… a bright sunshiny day, friends to share the Thanksgiving Day Parade with (and living in a country where we can watch it the day of, instead of waiting for someone to tape it and send it through the mail), the smell of turkey cooking, texting to keep in touch with family far away…

I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and the chance to reflect on what you are thankful for. You can share below if you’d like!