A brilliant Thanksgiving to all our friends

I have just seen photos of my New York State family manhandling a massive turkey with evidence of all the trimmings in preparation and happy smiles all round. Today, Carol and I have been aware of our many US friends celebrating with family and friends at this special festival. I looked back to my first post about this day 17 years ago. I wrote as an amazed spectator/participant: 

I still find the turkey extravaganza of Thanksgiving Day an extraordinary occasion. Families make superhuman efforts to be with each other – far more so than at Christmas. And, with great generosity they invite others. Would you believe it, four different sets of people called us in the previous week to invite us to share in their Thanksgiving meal? Without the incentive (and turmoil) of exchanging presents, people come together gladly in order to give thanks. Thanks for the nation’s beginnings, thanks for continuing family life, thanks for friends, for great food, (with recipes handed down from generation to generation!) Thanks! Just thanks!

Of course, on the next day, so-called Black Friday, when retailers hope to go into the black, the stores are full from 5.00 am and consumer madness reignites in blazing mass-buying until Christmas. But, like an oasis in the middle, Thanksgiving Day brings people together for the high purpose of thanksgiving. This year we enjoyed our US family being with us, around the turkey. It’s been wonderful.

Thanks has always been the springboard to generous living, to appreciation of life and (best of all) to praise of God. Begin thanking and other good things keep happening. I call it the power of positive thanking. Even in a prison cell (Col. 3:17)! We need this oasis somewhere in every day.

I confess our thanksgiving meal today was low-key, during our weekly main shop at Tesco. Carol's egg and chips were OK but my breakfast is best left uncritiqued. We looked across our plates and wished each other a happy thanksgiving, pausing with some of the thanks that need to be expressed over the last 12 months. And there are many.  Hope you have many too! A brilliant Thanksgiving to all our friends.