In just a few short weeks, I will be hosting our family’s Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. I have overwhelmed my brain with tips, recipes, and enough images from Pinterest to drown me in comparison for years. I have read so many “How to Cook a Turkey” articles that I almost feel as if I have done this before. But trust me, I have not!
I’m fortunate in that my mom has always hosted Thanksgiving at her house; the home where I grew up. She loves having everyone gathered around the table and celebrating well beyond the tryptophan naps. Her house has long been the epicenter for our extended family gatherings. However, a personal new season is dawning and all that has been familiar about the holidays is about to change. I recently learned that my parents have decided to downsize and are moving to a home that requires a little less upkeep. It is an absolutely natural next step for them, but an unexpected one for me.
Since learning this news, I have been a mess of emotions, some pragmatic, others impractical. I’m not proud to admit, but I may or may not have immediately gone over and written my name in a secret spot in their house just because I wanted to leave my mark on the place I called home for most of my childhood. Despite my wide range of emotions in regards to my parent’s move, I always return and camp out under a giant umbrella of thankfulness. During this Thanksgiving season where we focus on gratitude, it is easy to reflect on the foundation of stability, love and encouragement I was blessed to receive inside of those walls.
As I am attempting to help my parents prepare for their biggest move in the past thirty-five years (maybe even their lives), I have been captured by the reminder in Ecclesiastes 3:1 that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: …” None of us really saw this move coming (except for my parents), but I am certain that this is the exact right time for them to move. God knew when I offered to host Thanksgiving back in June, that we would be in the process of ending one chapter full of memories in my parent’s home while celebrating the beginning of a new era for our family and all of the memories yet to be in their new one.
God fills our lives with seasons that begin and end in His perfect timing. We have to let one go before we can fully embrace the next. He is a good, good Father and He assuredly wraps some beauty and gifts to be discovered by us along the way. So this Thanksgiving, as I juggle turkeys, side dishes, pumpkin pies and a few moving boxes, I will also be holding my open hands toward heaven in deep gratitude. My heart’s eyes will be looking for His blessings along the way. My prayers will be layered with thanks for His many good gifts, but especially for family and for a sense of “home” that no walls can ever contain.
(And maybe a little prayer for a turkey that comes out of the oven right on time and actually tastes good! - ha!)
- Sarah L.
