After a nearly thirty year absence, I joined my Ohio family at the Thanksgiving table yesterday. The family gathering was held at my brother's home. He and his family live in what was formerly our grandparents' home. My parents, my aunt, my brothers and sister, nieces and nephews, cousins and spouses of many of these enjoyed a beautiful sunny day filled with endless conversation and good food. Needless to say, it was a special time for me to be with so much of my family and to remember the Thanksgivings of our past. The adult men always wore white shirts and ties and talked of politics, crops and football. Each woman had an assigned task as the meal was prepared. My grandmother's table was covered with white linen and set with china and silver. The children were always seated at their own special table in another room. As time has passed, there have been changes in our day together. We still eat a traditonal fare, but we certainly are more casual about it. The one aspect that is constant is the love of a family who makes every possible effort to "gather together to ask the Lord's blessing" each Thanksgiving. There was a smile over this day and I am sure it was cast by Grandma and Granddad.
3 comments:
Going home can be a pilgrimage of revelations. I am glad you have found peace and family, and I rejoice that your family has embraced new traditions that maintain family ties for new generations.
Thank you for your continuing focus on children and family. I pray, though I am blessed with spouse, children, grandchildren, sibling, and inlaws, that we not forget that there are many among us who are in "non-traditional" family settings. As we celebrate family at Thanksgiving and Christmas, let us not forget those who find themselves without a spouse, or with no children, or part of a disfunctional family, or widowed, or all alone. They are children of God as well.
Thanks for the important reminder. There is so much sadness that surrounds our holidays among those who can’t image their family as a Norman Rockwell painting. However, didn’t the revelation of God through Jesus come first to the dysfunctional and the non-traditional? Our challenge as Christians is to find ways to share such good news with those who feel that they are alone and less than perfect. How can we do this?
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