“I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly.” (Ephesians 1:16 NLT)
The week of Thanksgiving always makes me grateful to God but also, grateful for others. When I was still a small girl, we would pile in the car each fourth week of November. We’d travel the full day drive from western Iowa to Chicagoland and tumble out on my aunt’s cul-de-sac in the wee hours of the night, sleepy smiles on our small faces. Glad to be with family again. In my growing up years, Christmas was about church but Thanksgiving was about cousins.
My aunt may very well be a super hero. She and my uncle had their own two littles, but on Thanksgiving, their modest two story absorbed my family of six and my other cousins’ family of four. The fourteen of us all crushed in for the long weekend; it seemed there were sleeping pallets everywhere in every room. Thanksgiving Day brought even more cousins of the local variety. I bet Aunt Boo hosted twenty people at that makeshift table; her good dining pieces paired up with the kitchen table plus card table for the kids.
The meal was always amazing. My aunt is an attentive and systematic cook. It was everything you imagine a thanksgiving feast to be. We’d stuff ourselves silly and then she’d send all eight of the kids outside to run off our turkey. The evening brought board games in the basement, monopoly could keep us occupied for hours.
On Friday morning we’d be woken up early because my aunt had organized an outing. I looked forward to these excursions to yet another fantastic Chicago site. It might have been the Shedd Aquarium with it’s rainbowed inhabitants or the Natural History Museum with the creepy mummies. Perhaps we’d tour the Field Museum, and the epic dollhouse where my cousin Sara and I would camp out on the red velvet fence and imagine what it would be like to play with amidst the fairy tale pieces. My very favorite was the Art Institute with it’s fantastic paintings and serious people. These grand adventures were the highlight of my childhood, complete with granola bars and fruit roll-ups for snacking when the cousins got cranky.
So you can see, for me, and maybe for many, Thanksgiving is abut gratitude, but it’s also about connection. It’s a wonderful time to thank God for the people He’s placed in our ives.
Truth be told, the pandemic has been a lonely stretch for our family. I’m supposing it has been for most folks, by the very nature of six feet apart. We had just moved across the country to a new community four months before Co-Vid crippled the country. Social distancing has made it tough to forge new relationships, especially with our faces masked. It’s a strange season for sure. I’m not bellyaching, I’m realize what a blessing it is to have people in our story.
I’m looking at Apostle Paul’s words, probably written while in chains, and applying them to my own narrative. Paul was praying from prison, stuck in his own sort of social distance. He was giving thanks for all the people his life had come in contact with. He was praying for them, that they’d experience the blessing of God’s presence, wisdom and revelation in their life. He rightly recognized that a little distance didn’t squelch their relationship; instead he had time and space to sit with their name in front of the Father. Paul took full advantage of the opportunity.
For a lot of us, Thanksgiving will look different this year. Maybe it’s the pandemic or maybe it’s miles between people, or perhaps your loved ones have already transitioned to eternity. Whatever the reason, we can still be thankful. We can seize the strange opportunity of this season and pray for our people. We can write letters or make phone calls or even utilize the postal system. Don’t let social distance drown out our gratitude this holiday season. Let it turn up appreciation for all the associations we’ve had in the past and when our appetite for the unbroken fellowship still to come.
“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to God.” (Philippians 1:3 NLT)
Lord, today we treasure the memory of holidays past. Thank You for family and friends and good food. Thank You for filling our lives with good things. This year we lift up our people, thanking You for them and asking You to bless them with presence, wisdom and revelation. Remind them of our love for them. Help them know just how treasured they are. Fill our hearts with gratitude as we wait for this season to change. Amen.