As a kid, I LOVED Thanksgiving. It was the best meal of the year by far. I was that boy who could never seem to get full. Thanksgiving was one of the few opportunities I could keep going back for more without someone stepping in and spoiling my fun. There was an abundance of everything.
After a lifetime of holiday dinners, the holiday is still my favorite but the excitement for the meal itself has waned. Yes, I still love all the family favorites and Thanksgiving staples – but the truth is, it’s just another good meal. What makes Thanksgiving my favorite holiday now is more about the setting, the people, and the purpose. As a child I looked forward to Thanksgiving dinner with anticipation. Now I don’t look at the mashed potatoes, I look at the people. I see the family God has blessed me with. I cherish the friends who have shared many seasons of life and helped me weather storms. I am awed by the abundance of people who have been a blessing to me and my family over the years.
This holiday is about the abundance of life. But if I’m being truthful, most of my life’s energy has been focused on scarcity. Will I have enough? What if I run out? What will next year bring? What happens if things turn for the worse? Have we allowed these questions, and a hundred more like them, to fill our lives and take our focus away from the things we find truly valuable? I don’t want that answer to be yes.
If I’ve leaned anything in 50 years, I’ve learned I can’t make it rain; I can’t make the market go up; and many of the things I’ve worked hard for have lost their luster after time. However, investing in relationships doesn’t disappoint.
Where have I found abundance? It’s been in the relationships I’ve shared with family, friends and the unexpected visitors that have blessed our families’ lives (and given us opportunities to bless others).
Going forward I hope to spend more time thinking about the abundance that surrounds me – not the scarcity I have created by focusing on the wrong things. I hope this Thanksgiving you are surrounded with abundance – and that you are blessed with the eyes to see it.
Happy Thanksgiving