Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving… (Psalm 95:1-3)
This morning when I stepped out into that 23 degree air it definitely felt like the Thanksgiving I remember as a child when we visited with grandma and grandpa on their dairy farm.
We would travel up the mountain on Wednesday and stay through the weekend. I would sleep upstairs in the farmhouse with no heat and even though there would be three or more in the bed, you still felt like an icicle. It was great fun! I remember getting dressed for the day under the covers and jumping into my shoes and running lickety split down stairs and into the toasty kitchen where grandma and the aunts were all busy .. some making breakfast and others basting the "bird' or peeling on something!
Oh, those were the days. I loved it so much. Even if we kids didn't get to eat in the dining room,
but ate at the huge round table in the farmhouse kitchen. ... that was where all the aromas and great warmth of the house lingered. And since I was the oldest grandchild, I sort of had some auotomony among the myriad others. Gosh, there were probably 11 kids hunkering around that table.. Such grand memories... I cherish to this day, 60 years later. So much for which to be thankful! When I look back I should remember to be thankful for our forebears. who showed us through their hard work how to grow up accomplished and able bodied to live a life unto the Lord. Oh, grandma loved to sing the old hymns while she worked, especially while doing those menial tasks like stringing the beans and peeling and dicing all those apples for her delectable apple cake.
The traditions that were passed down from on old..things grandma's grandma taught her.. so we would never forget to be thankful for the modern conveniences and such, as they were, back in the 1950's. Oh, and the recitations that were shared around the parlor, recitations grandma remembered from her youth written by James Whitcomb Riley.. Oh, how I loved those poems and songs sung around the room. Each person was encouraged to share something even if as a child you brought something to read. Everyone had to share in the mirth! These cherished memories are so golden; I am feeling that I should be much more pensive in my thankfulness. Not to just thank Him for the regular stuff that immediately comes to mind. But thank Him for how He purposed me to be born in this hard working family, the traditions and the wonders that taught us about life and how to persevere through the hard times to plan for a better one. So much has gone into my one life to make me who I am today, and I treasure it all as I really ponder about it! I challenge us all to be more thoughtful about what God ordained for our lives and how we were molded into who we are today, and really find the joy in this Thanksgiving!
