When I was a kid, Dad would ask us many times what we were thankful for. But on Thanksgiving, we had a family tradition -- in addition to having turkey dinner.
Before I get into the tradition, my favorite part of the meal was Mom's mashed potatoes and gravy. Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm! They were good!
Oh, maybe my sisters, Gena and Janice, made the mashed potatoes. Yeah, that's right. Mom started the tradition, Dad showed us how to make it without lumps, then Gena and Janice continued. It was a family effort. I can ask God to thank Mom for me because she's in heaven with Him, but I'll tell my sisters "thank you!"
The turkey thighs were my next favorite part, with marshmallow-covered sweet-potatoes coming in a close third. I never did develop a liking for cranberries, but I would take one teaspoon of the stuff to make Mom feel good.
Pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream topped it off -- but sometimes we waited for several hours to let the main meal settle. Then, the pie and ice cream served as a second, special meal.
After the scrumptious meal, we stayed around the table and each person shared a memory of something that happened in the past year for which he or she was thankful. When one of my siblings was thankful that Christmas was coming soon, Dad said, "We'll get to that another time."
When it was my turn, it was sometimes difficult for me because, emotionally, I felt like I was taking a school test -- under pressure, I froze up; I broke out in a sweat and couldn't think. After what seemed like an eternity, Dad would ask, "What are you happy about?"
Now that I could answer because it didn't feel like an interrogation. I was happy about the meal we just ate. I was happy that it rained that week. I was happy that Jesus kept us out of a car accident when we were going to Ramona. I could think of a lot of things if I didn't feel like I was under the spotlight.
It's interesting how just changing the words in the question released me from the feeling of a dreaded school test.
With 12 of us around the table -- 10 kids plus Dad and Mom -- it took a while to complete the tradition, and that was good! Too many times we would eat, clean up, wash-n-dry dishes and continue on our busy way. But the tradition kept us around for a while and helped us interact as a cohesive family unit.
An example of that is when we, as a family, went to the Greyhound Bus Depot in San Diego to greet an incoming missionary. As Dad was getting information from the man, my sister Janice came around the corner.
"Janny!" I hollered; and ran to greet her with a hug.
"How long has it been since they saw each other?" the missionary asked.
Looking at his watch, Dad replied, "Oh, about 10 minutes."
"Ten minutes? And they act like that?"
"That's what we do -- we love each other and greet each other with hugs."
Love and acceptance is another tradition we always tried to build. One person told me, "It was probably an act because you didn't really love each other -- did you?"
All I could say was, "It was -- and is -- real for me. I can't speak for the others; if it was only an act for them, that's their problem. But as long as it is meaningful for me, it keeps me emotionally and spiritually healthy."
Wouldn't you prefer to be around loving and grateful people more than around grumblers and complainers?
It's a fact that, as a class of people, loving and grateful people are healthier than others. That brings three Scriptures to mind.
Philippians 2:14 says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing." That includes grumbling. Proverbs 17:22 says, "A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength." And Romans 8:28 tells us that if we cooperate with God, He can actually bring good out of negative situations if we trust Him.
A happy heart refers to a joyful person, one who normally doesn't let disappointments get him down. And a broken spirit refers to a crushed or depressed attitude. Not only does depression drain the depressed person of energy, but it also drains the energy of people around him.
So, become a thankful person, and let's reconvene next week.
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Gene Linzey is a speaker, author and mentor. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. Visit his website at www.genelinzey.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 11/21/2018