Just Thankful

It is funny the memories from my childhood that have stuck with me as I’ve grown up. Although, I admit that often it isn’t the memories of the things that I had or all the things I did that I remember or think about the most. As I have gotten older, I have the wisdom to just be thankful for so many things. 

One of the most enduring Thanksgiving memories I have is not with tables full of food and people gathered around. It is instead one solitary Thanksgiving meal with my mom that is the most endearing to me.

My dad went hunting with my brother that year, so mom and I were home by ourselves. Mom made the decision that we wouldn’t do our traditional Thanksgiving meal that day. There was no sense in making a big turkey with all the trimmings for just me and her, so we skipped it that Thanksgiving Day. Instead, she prepared just a simple ordinary meal for her and me. It makes so much sense as a grown-up, but you have an entirely different perspective when you are nine years old. 

I still remember to this day feeling like I was somehow left out. That everyone else in the whole wide world had a turkey on their table that day, but for me. I will be honest I’m not fond of turkey that much. It was just I thought that was how it was supposed to be. Of course, mom fixed a savory hot meal that day, and we did have the turkey meal another day when everyone was around our table to enjoy it. But life is so black and white when you are nine years old. 

Today I can laugh about that day, but that memory has stayed with me for a reason. Sometimes we can focus on what we don’t have and miss out on all the things we do. And sometimes, life is not just black and white. If you go to a paint store and stand in the paint sample aisle, you will see. The world is full of vibrant colors, but it is also full of various shades of even the black and whites of our lives. So being thankful can be determined by your perspective as to what color your life will be. 

So which shade do I use to paint my Thanksgiving Table this year?  What color do I use?  Which shade do I blend in? 

I can start with I am thankful for all the obvious things like food, clothes, and shelter.  I am so very grateful for all of those. Next, I am grateful for family and friends.  Good neighbors and my small community where not much happens.  Yes, I am so very thankful for the small town where I live. When you see so much violence and unrest in other communities this day and time, I have never been more thankful for a quiet place to live.  I just heard my heat pump kick on as I’m writing this. Being in a warm house is something else to be thankful for on this cool November morning. 

 But let’s be honest. This year has been so very different for everyone. So I am going, be honest, that for some people I know, being thankful this year isn’t as easy as it usually is. I know so many people facing hardships, setbacks, and disappointments in addition to coronavirus and quarantine.  This year hardship has not skipped anyone I know. My own family has had their share of living out some tough things too.

In times of difficulty, I know I can lose my perspective and can so quickly struggle to be thankful. But, my daddy always said to be grateful for what you have because there are people who would love to have what you have—something else I have to admit that my dad was right about all along. 

Because you see…

I’ve not had to stand in long lines to get food this year. But some people have. 

I have not lost a job and am concerned about how I will afford to buy my child something for Christmas, but I am also worried about how I will pay the rent. But some people are.

I do not have to go to community outreach and stand in line to have something to eat on Thanksgiving Day, but I will gather around my table of plenty with my husband, daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. But some people will. 

I do not have to wonder if my chemo treatments will cause me to lose my hair, make me sick, and will the treatments be successful. But some people do. 

I do not have to wonder if life will ever be the same because their hurt and loss have been great.  But some people do. 

So this last Thankful Tuesday post this month is simple.  No big deep thoughts or heavy meanings. Just a heart full of thanks for what I do have today. And thankful for some things I don’t have to.  I guess that saying “there is always something to be thankful for” isn’t just something on a cute sign you hang on the wall. 

God has been so very good to me. Period. That doesn’t mean I sometimes struggle to understand why he allows some hardships to pass my way. It doesn’t mean at times; I long for things I don’t have. It doesn’t even mean that sometimes I struggle with the whole God is a good thing. It just simply means He has filled my table with plenty and “I have tasted and seen that He is good.” Period. And you want to know something? This Thanksgiving season is way more than enough. 

Because even for everything that I don’t have today, the fact is that God gives me such an incredible hope that I will have those things I need tomorrow. It also gives me hope that all the hard stuff I struggle with today will somehow all work out for my good in the end. 

Today, I will pause and be thankful for the many blessings on my table. But, I will also be grateful for things missing from my table this year.

I am grateful for the times I had so much more than I realized. Like the day that my mom and I sat down together with that simple Thanksgiving meal.  Even on that day, I had much to be thankful. Food, shelter, and an enormous amount of love.  A table that was vibrant in color even without a turkey. 

I wish you and your family the very best this Thanksgiving. I pray your table is full of food, love, and every shade and beautiful color of the rainbow. But most of all, I pray way down deep in your heart that you can feel and know what it truly means to be thankful because the ability to be grateful is a gift. 

 

See you in the field, 

Susan