Thanksgiving Preparations

Our Thanksgiving celebration will be both atypical and traditional this year, and this afternoon I did some preliminary planning and contemplating. Let me explain.

At noon on Thursday, we will serve our two local grandchildren a private Thanksgiving kid-feast: a tiny Cornish game hen (cute!), roasted asparagus (a favorite of the three-year-old), carrot sticks and bite-sized broccoli with Ranch dressing (the must-have raw veggie entrée), various fresh fruits (the 18-month-old will probably pig out on the grapes), and homemade rolls (a sure winner even if they turn up their noses at everything else).  The little girls will perch in miniature chairs next to a tiny, low-to-the-ground table draped with an equally small tablecloth.  We (their parents and grandparents) will serve the two blonde princesses their holiday meal.

Then the girls will both go down for a nap, and the mood of the house will suddenly grow q-u-i-e-t ….sssshhhhh!! We adults will speak in hushed tones (at least initially), turn on soft background music, and set the old oak table with fine china, silverware, and wine goblets.  I’ll light the candles on either side of a fresh flower arrangement and tend to last-minute food prep, while a team of turkey carvers plug in the electric knife and dismember the big bird.  My emerging menu is as follows:

Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy,  green bean casserole (“Not Your Mama’s Green Bean Casserole,” a from-scratch version of the old canned mushroom soup and canned onion ring recipe), roasted brussels sprouts/sweet peppers/mushrooms, broccoli salad, mixed fresh fruit, homemade rolls, pumpkin pie AND a cream-cheese-stuffed pumpkin roll.  Goodness.  All this for just FOUR of us! 

But my current preparations aren’t only about compiling a grocery list, gathering recipes, pre-planning what dishes to use, and anticipating an outlay of time, money, and energy. I’m also contemplating the blessings of home, family, friends, beauty, work, rest, and provisions of both needs and wants, as well as inner blessings: emerging passions and talents; lessons learned and second chances; ongoing challenges and insights. I’m preparing my heart to give thanks for the inevitability of change that stretches and teaches me what it means to live with radical hope in a God who demands unwavering allegiance – a God who instills real joy as I learn to commit to Him.