It was a Monday morning, and I was busy starting my week by organizing my schedule and some projects.
Wife Martha, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, came to my office door, looked in, and said, “Are you ready for the week?”
Then she added, “This week is Thanksgiving. Are you ready for our family Thanksgiving dinner?”
It caught me slightly surprised, and I just looked at her and said, “Oh, my. I completely forgot it was Thanksgiving week.”
She laughed and walked back to the kitchen.
I sat back in my chair and thought about our exchange. I couldn’t believe it was Thanksgiving again. Didn’t we celebrate it last year? I thought for a moment and remembered we did, and we had a wonderful time.
Now, another Thanksgiving. We have Abraham Lincoln to thank for this national holiday, and I’m grateful. I have no problem with such a holiday in the kind world we live in today. It’s very hard to find anybody who’’s thankful for anything.
This was more evidence of how times flies. We celebrated Thanksgiving only 52 weeks ago, and I’m trying to remember those days to recall what happened.
I was ready for another turkey on the table this year, partly because I remember well how good last year’s was.
Some of the best foods about Thanksgiving for me are, of course, the turkey, but then there’s the pumpkin pie. Whoever came up with the idea of a pumpkin pie, I’d just like to thank them for all the good times I’ve had at holidays with their creation.
One of the good things about Thanksgiving is that I can eat and get away with it. If I had one piece of pumpkin pie, I’d say, “Could I have another piece of pumpkin pie?”
And because it’s a Thanksgiving dinner, nobody can say no, not even Martha. Mainly because she’d get grief from our children.
My goal around the table is to ensure the pumpkin pie vanishes without Martha knowing it’s happening.
While eating the first bite of my first pumpkin pie, I’ll lift my fork in the air and say, “I want to thank The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage for such a wonderful menu today.” Everybody around the table will shout, “Yes.”
And that solves a lot of my difficulties on Thanksgiving. Pass the pumpkin pie.
As I was thinking about Thanksgiving, a verse in Colossians came to mind.
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
— Colossians 3: 17
A thankful heart is a heart that pleases God. I want to please God every day no matter the cost. The best way to thank God is to be thankful for all my family and friends.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. His email is [email protected]
