Saturday, November 21, 2009

I love Thanksgiving! It’s always been a favorite. My parents were both good cooks, and they used to start preparing for the “big day” way in advance. Mom would cut up the bread and season it all week long - adding sage and poultry seasoning daily. They would make oyster dressing, ordering fresh oysters weeks ahead, and sometimes Dad would shuck them himself, reserving the liquid for the dressing. There was a favorite jello salad that my aunt would make. It took forever to “chop” all the ingredients, and the dressing for that had to be made in a double boiler with fresh whipping cream added as the final ingredient. The turkey, dressing, sauerkraut, cranberries, pies, etc., would fill the house with a wonderful aroma. I can almost smell it now as I think about it. What a great time set aside for family to stop and give thanks for all our blessings.

Interestingly, the first verse that I remember memorizing as a child (other than John 3:16) was:

“Enter into his gates with Thanksgiving and into his courts with praise....be thankful unto him and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4

Two days before Tom had his stroke in 2003...I drove my grandson, Cameron, to his Sunday evening church group. On the way in the car, I was helping him memorize his memory verse. It was from that same passage...

“Know that the LORD is God...It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3

I memorized it with him and didn’t realize at the time that it was the LORD giving me a verse that I would hold onto for the next few days. Tom wasn’t expected to live through the night, and I remember saying over-and-over the words and acknowledging God’s power and sovereignty, knowing that Tom was in the best hands he could be. That was 6 years ago. Tom is great, and God continues to bless our lives. We have so much to be thankful for.

I love the way this story covers a period of time of over 50 years - that a passage God gave me when I was a young child and added to as an adult would provide as much meaning and comfort as it did. I love that it shows how God ties it all together, that He has the big picture, and that even when we don’t realize it He is planting seeds and laying the foundation for what is in store.

“For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:5

~Gwen Sunderly