Thoughtful Thanksgiving.

The snow is falling and that means winter is soon approaching. The smell of wood fires streaming from old houses, car exhaust from heat blasting, and spicy smells of baked goods and drinks are all permeating the air.

Thanksgiving is always the first holiday of the season for feasting (on real food and not candy) that jump starts the eating frenzy. When I think back to holiday meals when I was younger they were a mixture of real, from scratch homemade foods, and fake, from the box foods. The turkey, real mashed potatoes, boxed stuffing, cranberry Jell-O, green bean casserole, white buns from scratch, olives, raw carrots, and a salad layered with bacon, cheese, peas, onions, and miracle whip.

That was Thanksgiving past.

Thanksgiving present is non-traditional. As my family has been growing up and life brings has brought me to different countries, brings new people into the picture, the tradition has changed. A few years ago I spent Thanksgiving with my mom in Texas and we went to a buffet restaurant and had really fake Thanksgiving foods. Three years ago I was in England for the holiday and two years ago I spent Thanksgiving in New Zealand. In England and New Zealand the foods were an English version of our traditional Thanksgiving foods. The Yorkshire pudding, stuffing with apricots, pumpkin pie with a top crust, and fair trade chocolate were a very successful rendition of familiar foods. They were a comforting touch of home while traveling abroad.

This year I am not sure what Thanksgiving Day will look like. I will not be at home with my immediate family but that doesn’t mean it will go without celebration. I have invited international students from school over to celebrate the North American Holiday. There will be a potluck of some traditional food and some non-traditional. I pray I can extend the same hospitality to people without family in the U.S. as I experienced when I was in foreign places with no family.

What I am reminded of this time of year is that although the traditions of the day may change the purpose needs to remain the same. Thanksgiving celebrates harvest and the coming together of two worlds… the new and the native. In the past it was Europe and Native American. In the present it is people from all over the world and the United States. As a citizen of the United States and the Kingdom of God I am delighted to extend a hand to those who are from foreign lands.

I just hope they like the food…

John 13:34-36 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”