And whatever you do, whether in word or
deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him. Colossians 3:17
I think our family is fairly normal in terms of celebrating Thanksgiving
here in America. We have a nice breakfast, watch the parade on TV, enjoy the
wonderful smells of dinner being prepared in mom or grandma’s kitchen, and play
and watch football throughout the day.
And of course, early in the afternoon we enjoy the highlight of the day
by sitting down with family to an incredible, traditional feast that leaves you
stuffed from turkey, dressing, veggies, and amazing desserts. Not too bad!
But two years ago Thanksgiving had a little different twist. We added
some culture. Specifically, we had a guest in our home from England for the
Thanksgiving break. He was a teammate on my son’s college soccer team and had
no place to go for Thanksgiving.
We didn’t know what to expect from him having only seen him play games
but never spending any quality time with him. As the week neared, we were all
kind of curious what it would be like – language/accent, traditions, likes or
dislikes for our traditional American foods, interests, habits, etc.
We shouldn’t have been worried because it was great! He fit in great with
our family and we had a lot of fun together discussing culture differences,
trying new things (Ex: catsup on toast for meals), introducing him to our
church, and getting to share with him what Thanksgiving was really about,
especially for us as Christians. When the boys went back to school we were kind
of sad. It was a great time and left a special memory for us all. Now with a
couple of boys in college we await the holidays wondering, “who is next?”
Reaching out can be scary sometimes, can’t it? You don’t know who the
other person really is, what mess they may be bringing in to your life, or how
you can really help. And the truth of
the matter is that it should not just be a holiday thing. It’s a daily thing
that we should live by as Christ-followers. Jesus said: “Deny
yourselves, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) The scripture is very consistent and also reminds
us in the words of Jesus: “The King will
reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Submitted
by Jim Garner
