Thanksgiving Day

One of my most favorite times of the year is Thanksgiving Day. Oh, I love to eat and the football games are fun to watch, but that isn’t why I enjoy Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving Day we go over to my parent’s house. In years past that meant loading up the kids, along with our part of the food preparation, and going to dad and mom’s place. All day long we sit around and enjoy each others company. My parents are Christians and they have been a wonderful influence on our children. To watch them interact has always been enjoyable. We usually watch one of dad’s favorite old movies (now favorites of my kids, too) and stay until late.

As the years have gone by, my oldest son has married, adding another delightful family member to this great day. My younger son is away at college and having him home is special too. My two daughters have almost grown up so all the interaction is now mostly on an adult level, often about spiritual matters.

On the next day we have my wife’s family in. Since my oldest daughter was born on Thanksgiving Day, these Fridays have also doubled as the birthday celebration which brings in my dad and mom in the evening. At one time the number had grown to around 40 but it has dwindled in recent years (19 this year) as my wife’s siblings’ children have married and moved to other parts of the country and world. All of these folks are Christians, too, and again there is a lot of spiritual discussion, along with discussions about the SEC championship, business, cooking, the latest jokes, etc. Some folks always stay late and we end up singing spiritual songs together. This family has a lot of great voices and it is very uplifting to sing together.

Each year I find myself more and more thankful for so many blessing in my life that come from these families that my wife and I joined together. When you look up a generation to our still living parents, and out to our brothers and sister, and down to all those children, nieces and nephews (now two generations deep) and find so many mature, dedicated servants of the Lord, I can’t help but stop and give thanks. Each year those thoughts bring me to more and more tears as I become so conscious of just how unworthy I am to receive such wonderful blessings.

Yet in looking at my own children I understand why the Lord enjoys blessing His children. In fact, He said in Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

Do you enjoy the blessings of the Lord? You don’t if you are not His child. If you would like more information about how to enter into a relationship with Him, please email me using the link at the left. I enjoy sharing the blessings of the Lord with others and would enjoy doing so with you.

Thanksgiving Day. Indeed!