Thankfulness
As with all holidays it easy to get caught up in all the busy-ness and lose sight of what the holiday is actually about. The holiday season is now upon us, and I want to encourage you to take a moment and reflect upon the purpose and meaning behind the holiday. Thursday is Thanksgiving, a day we celebrate with the founding fathers and mothers of this great nation as they gave thanks to God for all His wonderful provision. As I recollect being taught in school that the pilgrims and the Indians set down together at the table and shared a meal and gave thanks to God for is abundant blessings. In school we would draw pictures and color them and make cut outs of pilgrims, turkey’s and native Americans to bring home to our parents to hang on the refrigerator. I can recall setting around a huge table at my Granddaddy and Mimaw’s home out in the country with my Momma and my siblings’ (sometimes with our aunts, uncles and cousins) giving thanks for all God’s goodness and our family.
I’m so grateful to God and will always cherish the wonderful memories of my mother bringing my siblings and I to our Granddaddy’s and Mimaw’s home in the Missouri boot hill. We climbed trees, played on the tractors, hunted in the cotton fields, dug for worms and fished in the bayou.
There was a country store there on the corner next to my grandparent’s home where you could buy fireworks year-round. Why, I can remember, once my brothers and I burned up a whole trailer load of our Granddaddy’s cotton, popping firecrackers inside one of those cotton trailers. Infact, if it wasn’t for God’s divine providence, we may have burned up that whole year’s crop had not my Granddaddy saw the smoke billing out from under the barn stall. At the time we had no idea, and I still don’t know the cost to my Granddaddy for our adventure, but to have that memory of being free on the farm is priceless. “Thank you” Granddaddy and Mimaw for your love, patience and kindness and for the whipping we got for our folly. I will always hold that memory and the many others on the farm dear to my heart and hope to one day share them with my grandchildren minus the burning of the cotton lol!
Can I encourage to take time to reflect and give thanks this Thanksgiving for some of your holiday memories? Maybe share them with your friends and family and while you are doing so make some new ones with them and your children and grandchildren. You might also, if I may add, take a minute or two and see if you can find God in the middle of them smiling on you and the ones you love.
Happy Thanksgiving!
~ pastor Tim
How can I pray for you?