Then a loud whisper from the hostess declared, “The food is getting cold!” The nervous quiet was broken as we took hands and I offered up a thirty-second prayer of thanks to God for His goodness, the food, and for each other. Everyone said Amen, and we took our seats to enjoy a wonderful meal together.
Conversation was dominated with requests for passing this and that and saying how good everything looked and smelled. It was a good feeling to be with all of these people and to be sharing this food and this day. The routine of it all was comforting, but something was missing. I wasn’t sure what it was, but then while chewing on a piece of turkey and some mashed potatoes, a thought began to form in my mind, born from my own frustration with the holiday and mixed with my desire for it to become a truly meaningful and honorable feast unto the One who gives us life and all good things.
It was clear to me that the parameters of our thankfulness needed to be expanded to include more than just what we could recall at the moment around the table. We needed to come prepared to share, and I suddenly saw how that could be achieved.
We, as a nation, went to the effort to set aside a whole day out of the year to be reminded of our many blessings. So why not come up with a way to bring our blessings from throughout the year into the celebration?
To offer up a few obvious thoughts without any mention of the personal moments of the year seems almost an insult to the Author of those blessings. It would be similar to dining out at a fine restaurant, being served with great service, and then leaving a fifty-cent tip for the server! They would probably prefer that you didn’t leave one at all; at least then they would think that maybe you just forgot.
Our western, secular culture has many positive aspects to it, but one of the regrettable things we tend to do is to take meaningful days and events and turn them into empty shells of their former selves. Part of the problem is our own human nature. We are all comfortable to go with the flow of an event or day instead of interjecting a thought or insight to make it more meaningful, not understanding that it takes effort to combat two natural and very real laws or nature: incrementalism and diminishing returns. Unless we make an effort to keep the holiday meaningful, it will become meaningless.
One of the potential beauties of Thanksgiving is the fact that everyone, regardless of religious affiliation, can celebrate it. It is a day to be grateful for who we are and where we are; to take stock of what we have in this life and to take a moment to appreciate it.
It is not the purpose of this book to criticize the ways in which we celebrate our holiday; rather it is my intention to offer suggestions on how to make Thanksgiving more meaningful…
