A Thanks-Giving Eve

It was a good Thanksgiving day. We had a "little" Thanksgiving gathering--My husband and myself, our 4 kids, my mother and one of my sisters and two of her kids. Everyone enjoyed themselves. We ate good food, watched a DVD, laughed, played a game, shared some stories, and went to bed with full tummies.

Even though the actual holiday was a blessing, I think I enjoyed "Thanksgiving Eve" almost more so. No, this isn't some strange family tradition that my family has--we don't attend Thanksgiving Eve services at church and sing Puritan songs, or beg to eat 'just one appetizer' the night before the big feast, or leave treats out for some mythically huge turkey who will come and leave us surprises--but we do prepare for the coming feast day in a somewhat ritualistic manner. There are pies to be made, jello salad that needs to be "molded", sweet potatoes that need to be cooked prior to being "candied"; special family dishes that need to be mixed together, ready to be cooked the next day.

There was something different about this "eve". All of my plans were thrown out the window when I woke up Wednesday morning extremely nauseous. This is definitely NOT how one wants to feel the day before Thanksgiving! I hadn't been feeling well for a few days, but convinced myself I was just tired, or just out of sorts--anything but sick. However, Wednesday morning convinced me that some "bug" had taken over my insides. After calling into work as a "no show" and canceling my last physical therapy session, I chose to get back into bed, unable to do much of anything else.

Crawling into bed I felt that sensation of worry mixed with responsibility, with a dash of obligation thrown in there. "We have to have Thanksgiving dinner! And what about Mom and my sister and her kids? They are planning on sharing the day with us!?!'

Then, clearly, impressed on my mind were the very words from James that I had been reading these past days in my Bible.

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city,
spend a year there, carry on business and make money, [or have Thanksgiving
dinner and have the family over?]." Why, you do not even know what will
happen tomorrow. Instead you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we
will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15

In the next chapter, James writes, "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray..."

Well, that's a novel idea. Surrendering Thanksgiving to the Lord. Hhmm. Surely James is only talking about our goals and ambitions, isn't he? Could he really be suggesting that I surrender everything to the Lord and ask Him if it is His will?? Yep, I think so. I couldn't shake it. God wants the details of our lives...even something that seems as benign as a holiday gathering.

So that's what I did. I prayed. I know this seems simple enough. I would love to say that prayer is always my first response to troubled or trying situations, but usually prayer comes in about third place. My initial reaction is just that, a reaction, complete with worry, agitation or grief, followed by a responsive action which kicks in my analyze-and-problem-solve-mode, working at finding a resolution to the situation. Then, finally third, is praying after I've settled down enough and have really thought about things. I'm working at having prayer be a first response....it's a process...but I'm learning!

So, finally, I prayed about this Thanksgiving Eve situation. I thanked the Lord for a cozy bed to sleep in, for a job that I can call in sick to (and know it won't be a huge inconvenience to my employer), for an illness that I was hopeful would last only a few days. And then I turned Thanksgiving over to the Lord. 'What do you want to do regarding Thanksgiving? I don't have a clue. Please show me what's what...and please work in Ron and kids and show them too and let us all know how this will work, if it will work, should we cancel, etc., okay?' t sounded like a lame-o prayer, but I knew the Lord would understand, and thankfully the Holy Spirit interprets! It was as eloquent I could muster in my compromised state.

I fell asleep and awakened 2 hours later.

I had such a peace. There was such a peace in knowing that whatever happened with Thanksgiving, God was in control.

As the day continued on, it was a day filled with blessings and joy as I watched God take care of the details. After sleeping, I felt a little better, but still on the "benched" list. The kids all rallied after school to pitch in and prepare things. Ron had called me from work and suggested we postpone the dinner until Sunday when I would hopefully be feeling better. I called my sister and Mom and gave them the heads up that things were not shaping up as I had planned, but, we could still possibly "do" Thanksgiving if the Lord cleared the way to do so. Everyone was on "stand by".

By dinner time, I was feeling pretty good! I had some energy and was able to eat a little bit. Things were looking up! I felt well enough to "do" Thanksgiving dinner and felt like the Lord was giving the green light to go ahead and inform my relatives to plan on it. I still had some grocery shopping to do, needing to gather those last few remaining items, so I enlisted my children to go to the store with me. They all willingly complied. We carried out our "divide and conquer" game plan at Winco and got done in record time amidst the masses. We actually had fun! Everyone was very much in a holiday spirit.

Once we got home, it was time to prepare the "favorite" dishes that would compliment the feast. So once again, having previously asked each of the children and Ron what food item they most wanted to have at the Thanksgiving dinner, I had that child help prepare their requested favorite. Everyone took a turn in the kitchen, mixing and measuring. It was so much fun. My daughter was ecstatic over making her first pecan pie ever!

Exhausted, I finally sat down 2 pies, 1 jello salad, 1 apple crisp, and one rice/broccoli casserole later. Looking around the living room, I realized that all six of us were present--at the same time--in the same room! This was a rare occasion! We began talking about the coming day, sharing what we like best about the holiday, discussing when we should put the outdoor Christmas lights up, and then figuring out the placement of this year's Christmas tree and arrangement of furniture. Someone shared a holiday memory, which began a stream of stories that made us all laugh and smile. We had such a great time together. Even my oldest son who seems to be rarely home, turned down repeated requests by friends to go out and socialize. We just enjoyed being together. It was such a blessing.

Thanksgiving day was really nice. The food was good. I felt better, although not great and not fully healthy. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the day. But really, Thanksgiving Eve, was my favorite part of the holiday. What a blessing from the Lord! He attended to details, worked in each person to make things "flow" and was so present in our family time. We couldn't have "planned" an evening like that--He orchestrated it beautifully.

I'm thankful for the lesson I learned this week about the simplicity of following the Lord. If I'm in trouble-- pray. Don't become locked-in to "plans", but instead, ask 'God, is this your will?' Then leave the driving and guiding to Him.