My friend Karen planned a Friendsgiving celebration for the residents at the healthcare home where her mother lives. We decorated the tables with tall lanterns filled with tiny lights and red, orange, and yellow silk leaves. Then we added stuffed pumpkins and sprinkled candy at each place. During the celebration, the elderly ladies and gentlemen taught me an important lesson. After participants had listened to a devotion about friendship and played games, they gathered around the tables to share some of their blessings. Their lists included life, family, friends, good memories, sunny days, chocolate cake, and many more. When…
Tag: Thanksgiving
Think on These Things
Who’s that singing? I peered through the glass of the storm door and discovered a little sparrow belting out an aria on the deck. The sight beyond the sparrow quickly turned my smile into a frown. Thin-stemmed, summer plants drooped over the edges of pots and cried for replacements. The grass, drained of summer’s lush green, imitated a worn, beige carpet. The typical mid-autumn scene looked drab and colorless—much like how the uptick predictions of coronavirus cases and recent political controversy make me feel. As I concentrated on the bleak picture, the little feathered songster hopped onto a…
What’s Hindering Your Gratitude?
Do you buy event or travel tickets early to ensure the best view? Some concert attendees select seating close to the stage, and many frequent fliers prefer a window seat glimpse of the clouds. Years ago, at a rainy college football game, I appreciated the no-umbrellas-in-the-stadium rule because I preferred getting drenched in my poncho rather than having an obstructed view. The way we face life’s circumstances can distort our view of God’s blessings and hinder our gratitude. It’s like watching a stage play from the last row of a large theater. Thankfulness can slip from the fingers of our…
When Thanksgiving’s Not the Same: Three Ways to Recover Gratitude
Ungrateful. Unsettled. Unexcited. I’m sorry to admit that was the state of my heart when I first contemplated Thanksgiving this year. My gratitude journal reflected numerous blessings, but the thought of another holiday without my mother saddened me. Mama was the heart of festivities for every holiday gathering. She created traditions that made Thanksgiving my favorite day of the year–decorations and flower arrangements, prayer in a circle with family holding hands, croquet games after lunch, Monopoly after supper. What I miss most is being loved by her and hugging her. Oh, the Thanksgiving meal– the world’s best dressing, steamed cauliflower…