This can be a very confusing time of year. As one
looks around town one sees leaves showering lawns
laying down a carpet of yellow, brown and gold. On
front porches pumpkins left over from Halloween can
be seen and the stores around town are festooned
with Christmas lights. I noticed the other day that
the freezer case in the grocery is over flowing with
frozen turkeys and a cardboard pilgrim was standing
nearby holding a facsimile of a frozen pie crust
which leads me to believe that in spite of the
confusion of reminders it is a fact that
Thanksgiving is near.
Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy,
cranberry sauce, hot steaming corn, sweet potatoes,
the aroma of seasoned stuffing fresh from the oven,
pumpkin pie, pilgrim hats, cornucopias, uncles,
aunts, cousins, grandmothers and grandfathers,
gathered around a lavish table, are but a few of the
images of Thanksgiving. Dads watching football, long
lines at airports
these are part of the scene as well.
But Thanksgiving? How much do our celebrations
and observances have to do with giving thanks? Where
do we see God in all of this?The first settlers at
Plymouth lived close enough to the soil to know how
dependent they were on God’s providence. They had
learned to thank God in the midst of the bitterness
of winter and they were quick to thank God during
abundant times of harvest affirming that God is near
in all times and things.
Even though there are times when we may not feel
especially blessed the Apostle Paul reminds us,
there is always something for which we can be
thankful. The Pilgrims had a custom of putting five
kernels of corn on each empty plate before eating a
meal as a reminder of the daily ration of corn that
each person received before the first harvest. Life
was hard, but even so, there was still a spirit of
thanksgiving.