Wednesday, November 24, 2010

HEART THOUGHTS... from Helen

Thanksgiving

“At this she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me---? Ruth 2:10

“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” I asked the teenager at the grocery store check out line.
He replied, “I’m going to my grandmother’s and I can’t wait.
I asked, “What makes going to your grandmother’s house so special.”
He quickly responded, “She’s the best cook ever!”
I suppose you’d call that ‘comfort food’ if your grandchildren can’t wait. That’s the same answer I received from others. I can’t help but smile because I’m the grandmother now. While one of my sons will be at his in-laws this year, my other son and his family will be at our house. Hopefully, his five children will feel about my food like the young man in the grocery store.

Growing up in the low country of South Carolina, I remember going out to my granddaddy’s farm on Thanksgiving after the devouring of the feast. My siblings and cousins and I would go out to the pecan trees which lined the lane to the barn and pick up pecans. Finding those mottled brown nuggets under the multicolored leaves was like mining for gold and the end result was just as good for me. If I recall correctly at times we got down on our hands and knees to search for the bounty. We’d get two in our hands and squeeze with all our might to crack them and pick out the marvelous meat inside. The trick is not to get any of the shell along with the meat, because everybody knows that just turns your mouth inside out. That also reminds me of a t-shirt I saw with a squirrel on it that said, “My family tree has a lot of nuts.” Perhaps that could be said of your family also.

What will our grandchildren remember about coming to our house for Thanksgiving? Will it be the bountiful food or playing ball in the back yard or shooting caroms or laughing at remembered family antics (the nutty things) or watching football?

I want it to be a special Thanksgiving. A spiritual marker, if you will. Of course, these two wishes are always at the top of my list for family gatherings. I don’t want to get so caught up in the cooking, serving, and cleaning that I can’t enjoy the fellowship and share my thankful heart. I want my family to share their ‘thanksgiving’ also. And somewhere along the way, when they’re older maybe their memoirs will relate Thanksgivings at our house and they will say: “I’m going to Nana and Poppy’s for Thanksgiving and I can’t wait”. I want to fall on my face like Ruth and exclaim:

“Why have I found such favor in your eyes?”

O Lord our Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for your bountiful gifts to us even if some of them come in packages that look brown and mottled and we have to work hard to get at the good parts. I think every day will be Thanksgiving when we get to heaven!

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