Thanksgiving ... thanks for what?

Hidey ho there, fellow feast goers! Are you all geared up for the big T-day event? Got your table set, turkey brining, crafts for the kids ready, and everything running according to schedule? Okay, maybe someone out there has it all planned down to the last salad fork … but you can bet it’s not me.

This is one of those annoying holidays where you work like a slave (unpaid, and likely unshowered) for days, only to produce a meal that will be eaten in 19 minutes flat. Your kitchen will be trashed and the house will look like a tornado hit after the whole affair is over. Thanksgiving? Thanks for what??

I tend to look around and look inward at this time of year and wonder what in the world I’m really thankful for. It seems like the proper thing to do. Introspect. Retrospect. Try to make some sense 

of the yearly drudgery.

But honestly, how thankful can I be when my husband hates the very foods that make Thanksgiving the eating holiday of the year? He detests turkey, mashed potatoes and pie. Don’t ask me why; there’s no rhyme or reason to it. He’s not fussy with any other kind of food. Kind of puts a damper on the whole feast thing. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from cooking any of those dishes. Just means there’s more pie for me.

Let’s see, how about my kids? Well, I am thankful that my two daughters are pretty good eaters. But the thankfulness index plummets when it comes to their sleep habits. Or should I say the lack thereof. Neither of the girls seems to need more than a thimbleful of sleep each night. I've had big-time sleep deprivation for over thirteen years. In a row. Yet these are just minor irritants in my daily life. 

These things, in the end, don’t mean a whole lot. There’s just too much going on in the world nowadays to get upset by little stuff like food and sleep. What with terrorism, hurricanes, floods, fires, financial disasters, tsunamis, earthquakes, epidemics … and heartbreak from one end of the world to the other, the quote of the year is from a TV host who said:  "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

He’s certainly got a point. The news during these last few months has been rife with strife. But as we enter into the holiday season it’s easy to get so frazzled and unfocused that we forget the reason behind the season. When we take God out of the equation it reduces holidays like Thanksgiving to a meaningless exercise. It’s not about football and full tummies. Truly.

I’m thankful I have a God who knows me fully and still loves me, a God who cares about the little details in my life. I know there are many in the world that aren’t as fortunate as us. People who would be thankful for even a tiny portion of the feast we’ll have this year on Thanksgiving, much less the plenty we have from day to day.

So when I’m washing my millionth dish, or folding my billionth pile of laundry, or cleaning up the trillionth mess in the house, maybe I can do so with a little more grace. Because when I do stop long enough to count my blessings, you know what? I’ve got plenty to be thankful for.

And I bet you have too.