Leftovers and Lingerings
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"
Psalm 34:8 (ESV)
A lot of the world moved on to the Christmas season before Thanksgiving even arrived. Some families began displaying Christmas decorations as soon as Halloween was over! By mid-November it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, not just in retail stores, but throughout our neighborhood as festive lights and wreaths quickly appeared. Even our church got into the pre-Christmas push with Operation Shoebox and Angel Tree gift drives completed by mid-November.
I am definitely not among the pre-Thanksgiving Christmas proponents. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I refuse to rush through it to get to the Christmas Crush! My last few days since Thanksgiving have been, not so much a time of Thanksgiving recovery, but actual Thanksgiving reflection. And much like savoring my favorite Thanksgiving dinner leftovers, I’ve been lingering over God's many blessings the last three days.
Birdie James, our youngest granddaughter and newest family member, is certainly one of this year’s greatest blessings. So are her three older cousins who spent most of our Thanksgiving afternoon entertaining her with their antics. Between Birdie and Mimi (Bruce’s Mom) we had family members of all ages and stages from 8 months to 96 years! It was a great blessing to have everyone gathered for a Thanksgiving meal. Covid and James Bruce’s sudden death in 2022 taught me to never again take a family gathering for granted.
Our Thanksgiving Day celebration is always a dream come true for me. I grew up as a steel worker's daughter. Blue collar steel workers in the 1960s were often out of work due to plant layoffs or union strikes. To better provide for our family, my Daddy usually volunteered to work holidays because his company paid double time for those shifts. My siblings and I don't remember ever eating a Thanksgiving meal at our grandparents' homes even though one grandmother lived only a block away. Christmas family meals were different, but Thanksgiving as a meal or an important family event, wasn't a big priority.
When I married into my husband's family, a whole new world opened up for me. Family members- aunts, uncles, and cousins- often traveled great distances and came together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Visitors were often also welcomed because no one should have to celebrate the day alone. It wasn't a big deal to set one more place at the Findlay/Evans table.
To my surprise, I didn't have to guess about our holiday menu. It was the same thing every year. Like clockwork, I could count on oven baked turkey, dressing, green beans, squash casserole, sweet potatoes, and asparagus. Pecan pies were always on the dessert table. But the highlight of this annual food fest was always "Mee-Maw" punch, a sweet Koolaid/lemonade slushy concoction whose recipe was handed down by Bruce's Grandmother Findlay and the sweet ladies at Pratt City Presbyterian Church. Just about the time our kitchen clean-up was finished, out came the cut crystal punch bowl. The "sameness" of it all provided a framework for the formation of my own family traditions.
Covid brought an abrupt end to our large extended family gatherings. That wasn’t the only change, however. We've now switched from fine china to plastic plates and Solo cups; added some new menu items to our old favorites; and added new immediate family members through marriages and grandchildren. We've also experienced the painful loss of James Bruce.
But many things remain the same. We still join hands and pray together before our meal. There are still plenty of hugs, handshakes, laughter, love, games, and even a few tears as we share stories, memories, and highlights from previous years. The punch bowl and “Mimi” punch still are the afternoon’s highlight. A group photo serves to remind us, not just who was here, but for whom we need to pray. I don’t want to take any of it for granted.
Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent and this week’s calendar is already full of early Christmas celebrations. it’s time to move forward with our Christmas preparations. Last night Bruce and I lit our first candle of Advent and began reading Alistair Begg’s new devotional Let Earth Receive Her King. Even so, I remain grateful for this extended Thanksgiving season of leftovers and lingerings remembering that God is always good, and we are always loved.