Share the Joy

As many of us spend our day baking, reviewing our menu, decorating the house, and thinking about tomorrow's feast, our hearts will be feeling the joy that only this special season can bring.  I've been asking myself if I fully appreciate that not everyone feels so joyful during the holidays.  Am I aware of others and their needs and feelings?  Do I take the time to consider that not everyone will spend the day baking, singing, listening to music, and anticipating a bountiful day of happiness with family or friends?


Most of us are blessed to have someone with whom we can spend Thanksgiving Day.  We will be feasting, playing games, watching Macy's parade and maybe enjoying a movie.  (My favorites are Miracle on 34th Street and The Polar Express.) All of these traditions just seem to be a part of our culture and a slice of the life we've come to expect.  As we enjoy these pastimes, I want to encourage us to consider those who may not be so blessed, may not have a family with whom they can spend the day, may not have food to fill their stomachs--much less turkey and dressing, pies and salads and stuffing. 

Today, as we enjoy the preparations and traditions, I would like to encourage all of us to also think of one thing we might do on Thanksgiving, or during the holiday weekend, to bless someone who isn't as fortunate;  someone who may not have family close by; may not be able to look forward to a feast with all its trimmings; may be suffering from depression, loneliness, or lack of some other kind.  Then, do that one thing.

Some Ideas:

• invite someone to Thanksgiving dinner
• deliver a plate of turkey and trimmings to a shut in
• deliver a pie or other treat to someone whose influence you appreciate
• visit an elderly neighbor or shut in who is lonely 
• drop off a bottle of sparkling cider to someone who has helped you during the year
• invite someone to share a movie on Thanksgiving evening or play a game with your family
• bring a bag of food to the local food bank or drop one into the collection box at the supermarket
• make a donation to Toys for Tots
• invite a neighbor to take a walk and spend some time letting them know how much you appreciate them.  
• call a friend you haven't spoken to in awhile and express your love
• invite a single or elderly friend to help you decorate your home--or bring a decoration to theirs!

I'm sure you can think of other ideas, as well.  
This is a time of year when we can get so caught up in all the joy and preparations of the holidays that we forget there are those who really need what we have to give. While it is wonderful to celebrate and feel the happiness of the season, I just want to encourage us (yes, me too) to remember Snoopy's advice and share that joy with others. 

Gratitude in the Trenches

As we count down to Thanksgiving, I think I will dispense with answering a question, and spend this week expressing my heartfelt gratitude for the gifts I've been given.  There are always the "easy" blessings to recount and give thanks for.  For me, those are: beautiful children and grandchildren, friends, a warm home, healthy food in abundance, and life in the greatest nation on earth.  I have so much to appreciate.

Yet, more than these obvious blessings, there are the not so apparent gifts that lie shrouded in the difficulties of my life. What of the events that challenge me, my values, my patience?  Am I thankful for them and the lessons they teach?  Who would I be, really, if I never had to exert myself to exercise forgiveness and patience; never had to assess what I believe; never had to humble myself in prayer; never had to employ my work ethic?

I wonder, what kind of life would I have without gratitude?   What kind of person would I be if every time I desired a blessing it was given to me?  No work, no challenge, no effort.  Would I be grateful?  What if every friendship came as something due to me in the course of my life?  What if I never gave back, never extended encouragement, never showed up for other peoples' special occasions, and everyone always agreed with me?  What if I was fed, clothed, housed, and cared for without any effort on my part?  Would I appreciate these blessings?

Our Pilgrim forefathers and mothers saw challenges aplenty.  They suffered harsh winters, left behind family and friends in their mother lands, and watched loved ones die.  Nevertheless, they still knelt in humble prayer and thanksgiving.  They celebrated the blessings they received, though they had reason to bitterly lament the trials they suffered.  They embraced the help afforded them by their Native American friends who taught them to plant corn, and helped them through their first years of settlement in a new land, and they were grateful.

It's so easy to express appreciation when the sun shines on our life, and our circumstances are fine.  However, that's not the sum total of all that comprises our lives.  Like the pilgrims, we each have our landings in new and unexplored places.  We each face our own bitter winters and deprivations.  Are we grateful for these challenges and for the lessons they teach us, for the values they test, for the way they change our hearts?  Are we grateful for the friends who help us through these times until we can get acclimated to our new circumstances?

When our gratitude focuses on the wonderful blessings that grace our lives with ease and happiness, that is good.  When it becomes a power that is so internalized that it can transcend even the harsh circumstances of life, that is better.  This Thanksgiving, as we celebrate all that affords us joy and ease, I hope we will also take time to examine our difficulties and give thanks for what those circumstances are teaching us; how they are changing us; and the new and better people we can become because of our trials.