How to have a powerful Thanksgiving!

How to have a powerful Thanksgiving!

What does Thanksgiving mean to me? Well, being a Mayflower descendant it is a great honor. Growing up, my family heritage didn’t mean much to me. As I got older and read more about the Mayflower, it had a special meaning to me. My two descendants wereGeorge Soule and Peter Browne. I read about how hard life was back then, survival was all they could do with little food, water and cold weather. As I sit back and reflect on how easy we have it today compared to what the pilgrims went through, well..let’s face it, turkey, mashed tators, and pumpkin pie and football seems less stressful on Thanksgiving Day, then on our forefathers, don’t ya think?

I was reading in one of our family diaries, an entry dated in “1903 Thanksgiving Day” my Grandfather was out deer hunting for meat to provide the Thanksgiving dinner. He was a young man in his late teens, hunting the woods of central Wisconsin for a whitetail deer. He was successful not only in getting a deer, but also he got one big fat goose as my great grandmother wrote in her diary.

My question to you is, what does Thanksgiving mean to you? Is it just another day of the week, or do you actually take time to reflect on how blessed you are with a roof over your head, and to have food on the table? So many of us, just seem to go through the day with not much thought of how we are blessed. There are some great pictures that were done by Norman Rockwell in his day. My favorite is his Thanksgiving Day painting called “Freedom from Want” done in 1943. This painting depicts an American family gathered around the Thanksgiving Day table. It shows a happy family being together while eating a holiday dinner. When I first saw this painting as a kid, I sure wished I had a family like that!

Since that time as a kid, I have created that atmosphere for my family, and for many who only want to be part of a Norman Rockwell painting that shows a loving family gathered around the dinner table. I invite those who don’t have family in Colorado, or may be separated or divorced and some who are alone. I invite singles who have no place to go. When we gather together, I want to share my home, I want those who join us to feel as if they are part of a family that wants them and appreciates them.

How hard can it be to invite someone who wants to be with a family for a thanksgiving dinner? Why do some people put conditions on those who are in need? I am thankful that I can offer a meal to a hurting or lonely person. I feel that giving back to those in need, and I am not talking about those who take advantage of others, but those who really need you to adopt someone who would love a “Freedom from Want” Thanksgiving dinner. I want to challenge each of you to invite someone in your sphere of influence and invite them over Thanksgiving dinner at your home. If you don’t know of anyone contact a church in your community and ask if they know of some folks who could enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner. I know of some people who will order a dinner for a needy family from King Soopers and have it delivered to the home. There are many ways to bless others during Thanksgiving.

You may have some people that have blessed you by things they have done for you, how about a phone call, telling them thank you for however they helped you. I had a friend who did a lot for me when I needed help with a project I was doing at the time. So, I called him on Thanksgiving day, and expressed how much I appreciated his help and his friendship. He really was happy that I called. You may have some people you haven’t talked to in years, pick up the phone and call them! Get back into each others lives, its hard to do that when someone passes. If you need to restore a broken relationship, what a better day to do that then on Thanksgiving.

Make a list of people you are thankful for and tell them, if it’s your wife, parents, children, tell them at the dinner table just before you eat. You will touch many lives in doing so.

In closing, take time and reflect how you have been blessed. This is a great time to reconnect. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day! Blessings.