A New Bride's Thanksgiving

November 21, 2011

By David I. Shrout

My mom shared this family story that has taught me a great lesson: When Mom and Dad were first married in May of 1941, they were young college-age students. Mom wanted their first Thanksgiving to be just perfect. So she made plans and bought the turkey and all the trimmings. College students don’t have much money, so each purchase was made with careful consideration. Mom wanted to show her new husband what a wonderful wife and homemaker she was.
 
Thanksgiving Day came, and Mom got up early to begin preparing her Thanksgiving feast. I am sure she used the recipes that her own mom used. In the 1940s, long-distance phone calls were too expensive for young college students, so my guess is that she did it all from memory.

The food was prepared and the table was set with the finest dishes they had. It was not china, but their best everyday dishes. Knowing Mom, there must have been a tablecloth on the table. Everything was perfect.

Now Mom had just spent the better part of the day cooking and was very tired. She called Dad to the table for their feast. After prayer, they started to enjoy the dinner. By the time Mom had caught her breath from her day’s labors, Dad had already finished his meal. You see, Dad grew up on a farm with six brothers and sisters, and he had to eat fast if he wanted any food!

When Mom noticed that Dad was done and that she had just started, her heart sank, for her Thanksgiving feast was over. Dad stayed at the table and talked to Mom while she ate. But I think in her perfect plan, she wanted them to eat together.

I wonder if this story rings true for any of you who are reading this article. You work very hard to set up a perfect memory, just to have everyone race through the event. You sit there wondering if all of your hard work was just wasted. You might even think to yourself that if this day ever comes again, you will do things quite differently.

There was a great meal of Thanksgiving that God had prepared. It was a meal that began the church’s anticipation for the return of the Son of God when he takes us to where we will live for eternity. Read slowly these verses of 1 Corinthians 10:14–17 and ask yourself whether you are looking forward to the return of Christ, whether you are giving thanks with the cup of thanksgiving, and whether you are grateful for the body of Christ that died for your sins.

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. (NIV)

This Thanksgiving Day, I encourage you to not eat your meal so fast that the ones who made the meal are still catching their breath. As we gather together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, may we slow down and take time to demonstrate the unity that we have in the body of Christ. Let us enjoy our meals, slowly and deliberately, waiting for each person to savor the flavor of our unity. May we demonstrate to the world what a loving family looks and acts like, both as a church and as a family.

And in your spiritual life, I encourage you to savor the gift that God has given to each of us through Jesus Christ. Savor the cup and the bread!

In case you’re wondering, Dad did learn to slow down and enjoy his Thanksgiving meal with Mom and us three children. I remember those meals, the laughter, the guests, and all those pies.

Pies, yes, lots of them—but that’s a story for a different time.

Rev. David I. Shrout is the executive coordinator for the Association of the Churches of God: Oregon and Southwest Washington.