Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. There's something about it that brings those fuzzy feelings of coziness and comfort to my soul. I think it has to do with the idea that the harvest is over. It's that dormant idea that rises up and declares that the work has been done and that those seeds that were planted long ago have grown into something more. That doesn't mean that our work is finished for good. It's just an end to a season. A time to celebrate. A time of contentment. A time to share in the joy of the harvest. Everyone comes to the table. Some bring cranberries and some bring the pie. Some don't bring anything. But there's always plenty to go around, with everyone sharing in the abundance. 

If there's ever one thing that we should try to get right in this life it's sharing in those good things, not only the good things that happened to us, but celebrating the good things that have happened to others as well and thanking God for it all.

When I look at the big picture, the neat little part of Thanksgiving is that most of the people that we share Thanksgiving with are the same ones that we do life with. When we have to travel to be with family then that's not necessarily true. But if you're eating Thanksgiving dinner close to your home, then there's a good chance that those people that you are eating turkey and giving thanks with will probably be the ones that you plant with too, the ones that you'll walk through life with in the next year.

Those meals might not be that fancy. They might be a potluck at church or a pumpkin flavored latte with a friend in a coffee shop. Or they might be a full blown five star meal.

“Where” isn't as important as “why” and when we take that time to recognize and give thanks to God for those good things, truly giving thanks, and sharing a little time with your friends, recognizing the season, we are already planting seeds for the future, for that next harvest. 

Watching those seeds grow, tilling the soil, pitching in and walking with others in this thing we call life, isn't always easy. But making it through those tough times or helping others get there is precisely the thing that when we look back on it, it brings us joy and those warm and cozy feelings of a good harvest!

2 Corinthians 9:11 says it best.

“You will be enriched in every way for all of your generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God!”

Happy Thanksgiving!