This Thanksgiving...
They really do need a category for just "Holidays" in these thingies. Holidays always have a way of getting us all busy putting out those holiday greetings and messages, and making us crazy with all the rushing around and shopping and cooking and assorted pandemonium, trying to get everything "just right" for our family and loved ones. One friend commented that she's already started her Christmas shopping, and I applaud her for being that organized. I've got my Christmas cards all made out, but that's only because I had a ton of them from half-price sales after last Christmas, and it gave me something to do while I was stuck sitting down all day after my surgery in September.
But, this particular holiday is not about presents and trees and fat guys in red underwear climbing down your chimney and doing obscene things with your stockings. Even that holiday is not about that, anyway. This holiday, Thanksgiving Day, is the day that we set aside to give thanks for the simple things in life that we've come to take for granted every day. I live in a country that allows me to worship God in whatever form I may worship Him. I can go to church every Sunday if I want to, right out there on Main Street, in front of everybody, and I can carry my Bible and open it and read it on the streetcorner if I so choose. There are countries where church can only be attended in secret rooms and basements, and can only be attended while no one is watching that might report you and have you arrested. There are places where Bibles are forbidden, and have to be smuggled to people who are thirsting to read them. I'd imagine other holy works will be next on the censored list in places like that, because once you start telling people what they can and can't believe, the next step is to tell them what they can and can't read, or watch, or listen to on the radio. I thank my God, by whatever name you happen to call Him, for allowing me to be born with this sort of priviledge.
There will be food on my table on Thanksgiving day. I am planning to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving feast of turkey, ham, dressing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, candied yams, corn, dinner rolls, and pies, along with all the acoutrements. I am already baking the pies even as I type this.
I may not eat steak every day, but I do have something to eat every day. So many people in poor countries cannot say this, and are thankful for a single bowl of rice to sustain them, if even that. It makes me feel humbled by the wealth that will be on my table for this meal, and I am thankful that I have this.
While my home is by no means palatial, or even middle-class, it has sturdy floors and ceilings that keep the rain out, and it keeps me warm and dry inside. I am thankful to live in a home where I can invite family and friends to share in such a meal with me. There are many places where ten people live together in two rooms with poor indoor plumbing, if any at all. There are places where the homes are so poorly made that they do not keep out the rain and cold and bugs and wild animals. The wildest animals to appear in my home are my own pet birdies and a couple of very annoying mice that are more afraid of me than I am of them.
I have clothes on my back, and they are clean, and they fit me pretty well. They are not designer names, and some of them are hand-me-downs. But they are well cared for, and I have plenty of them. I do not need to fear going out into the elements without shoes to protect my feet or a jacket to keep me warm. I am thankful for this, because there are so many people that have so much less.
I have a family that I love very dearly. Granted, we may annoy each other to the point of distraction from time to time, but it is good to know that there are people of the same blood as I am here to share this world with me. When I think of the people who are alone because they have no family to surround them, or the people who have family that they have pushed away or let push them away, I am thankful that my own family is loveable and approachable most of the time. And, even when they aren't, or when I am not, I love them and know that they, or I, will eventually "get over it." I am thankful for my family, for being there and allowing this kind of unconditional love to go on, silly and cliche'd as people might find it.
The same holds true for my friends. I am surrounded by some of the most loving and caring friends you can imagine, both on and off the net. Every one of these friends is more valuable to me than I can possibly express. Every one of these friends is an individual that is as unique as a snowflake, but I pray not as fleeting, and as colorful as a rainbow, but I pray never fading. Yeah, that's right, I'm talking about you. And you. And you over there, behind the potted plant. I see what you're putting in there. Stop it right now. Yeah, even you, but would you PLEASE take off that stupid beanie? It looks ridiculous. This is a Thanksgiving celebration, not a fraternity party! Now, where was I? Oh, yeah...colorful rainbow/snowflakes of uniqueness and beauty and all that stuff. In other words, you all rock. And I am thankful that I am in a world with all of you in it.
Okay, I'm done with the mushy stuff for another year, and the oven timer just beeped. Everybody have a happy, safe, peaceful, blessed and thankful Thanksgiving!
hugs from ducky
But, this particular holiday is not about presents and trees and fat guys in red underwear climbing down your chimney and doing obscene things with your stockings. Even that holiday is not about that, anyway. This holiday, Thanksgiving Day, is the day that we set aside to give thanks for the simple things in life that we've come to take for granted every day. I live in a country that allows me to worship God in whatever form I may worship Him. I can go to church every Sunday if I want to, right out there on Main Street, in front of everybody, and I can carry my Bible and open it and read it on the streetcorner if I so choose. There are countries where church can only be attended in secret rooms and basements, and can only be attended while no one is watching that might report you and have you arrested. There are places where Bibles are forbidden, and have to be smuggled to people who are thirsting to read them. I'd imagine other holy works will be next on the censored list in places like that, because once you start telling people what they can and can't believe, the next step is to tell them what they can and can't read, or watch, or listen to on the radio. I thank my God, by whatever name you happen to call Him, for allowing me to be born with this sort of priviledge.
There will be food on my table on Thanksgiving day. I am planning to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving feast of turkey, ham, dressing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, candied yams, corn, dinner rolls, and pies, along with all the acoutrements. I am already baking the pies even as I type this.
I may not eat steak every day, but I do have something to eat every day. So many people in poor countries cannot say this, and are thankful for a single bowl of rice to sustain them, if even that. It makes me feel humbled by the wealth that will be on my table for this meal, and I am thankful that I have this.
While my home is by no means palatial, or even middle-class, it has sturdy floors and ceilings that keep the rain out, and it keeps me warm and dry inside. I am thankful to live in a home where I can invite family and friends to share in such a meal with me. There are many places where ten people live together in two rooms with poor indoor plumbing, if any at all. There are places where the homes are so poorly made that they do not keep out the rain and cold and bugs and wild animals. The wildest animals to appear in my home are my own pet birdies and a couple of very annoying mice that are more afraid of me than I am of them.
I have clothes on my back, and they are clean, and they fit me pretty well. They are not designer names, and some of them are hand-me-downs. But they are well cared for, and I have plenty of them. I do not need to fear going out into the elements without shoes to protect my feet or a jacket to keep me warm. I am thankful for this, because there are so many people that have so much less.
I have a family that I love very dearly. Granted, we may annoy each other to the point of distraction from time to time, but it is good to know that there are people of the same blood as I am here to share this world with me. When I think of the people who are alone because they have no family to surround them, or the people who have family that they have pushed away or let push them away, I am thankful that my own family is loveable and approachable most of the time. And, even when they aren't, or when I am not, I love them and know that they, or I, will eventually "get over it." I am thankful for my family, for being there and allowing this kind of unconditional love to go on, silly and cliche'd as people might find it.
The same holds true for my friends. I am surrounded by some of the most loving and caring friends you can imagine, both on and off the net. Every one of these friends is more valuable to me than I can possibly express. Every one of these friends is an individual that is as unique as a snowflake, but I pray not as fleeting, and as colorful as a rainbow, but I pray never fading. Yeah, that's right, I'm talking about you. And you. And you over there, behind the potted plant. I see what you're putting in there. Stop it right now. Yeah, even you, but would you PLEASE take off that stupid beanie? It looks ridiculous. This is a Thanksgiving celebration, not a fraternity party! Now, where was I? Oh, yeah...colorful rainbow/snowflakes of uniqueness and beauty and all that stuff. In other words, you all rock. And I am thankful that I am in a world with all of you in it.
Okay, I'm done with the mushy stuff for another year, and the oven timer just beeped. Everybody have a happy, safe, peaceful, blessed and thankful Thanksgiving!
hugs from ducky