“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There is just something about gathering around the table with family and friends. The Pilgrims thought it important way back when, and I can’t help but think it might be more important in the hustle and bustle of life today.
This was my second year to host Thanksgiving. Last year, being my first time to host, I was focused on details and pretty tablescapes. This year, we finished a kitchen remodel the day before Thanksgiving. Needless, to say I was a little more laid back. I was just impressed and grateful we had a kitchen to cook in. I honestly wasn’t sure we were going to pull it off. But many thanks to my parents, we did.
One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions began twenty something years ago when I was a little girl. Thanksgiving in my family was always (well still is) associated with hunting. When I was a little girl, my parents decided to stop making the trek back to Louisiana for the large Thanksgiving, and we started making our own tradition. Some years we had aunts and uncles and cousins that lived close by and other years it was just the three of us. In the midst of this, this tradition was born. I wrote every verse I could find on giving thanks, decorated it, and placed it at every place setting. Once we finished our meal, we went around the table each reading our verse and sharing something we were thankful for. These Thanksgiving scripture cards have evolved over the years from my little girl handwriting with a green crayon background to pretty typed scriptures backed by pretty paper. The tradition has remained through all these years. It has become a rather special time for our family to reflect over the Lord’s goodness in the past year. The past years have been filled with some hard things for different people in our family and yet we have always been able to find the Lord’s merciful hand as we give thanks.
This year was another blessing to have our family and friends gather around our table – and our new kitchen island!
