Thanksgiving is like the "middle child" - crammed between Halloween and Christmas and often forgotten and not really given its due. I should know...I'm a middle child myself; it's easy to be forgotten and overlooked because you don't have all the special qualities of those things that "bookend" you.
But what an important holiday Thanksgiving is! It gives us the opportunity to reflect on all we have been blessed with, before we are blessed with more during the Christmas season; it gives us a chance to gather with our family and friends and let all of the past worries, hurts, and sadness go - even if just until after the last piece of pie is eaten; and it prepares our hearts for the Christmas season of giving because we have been given much.
Yet, I think with all the commercialization of Christmas (stuff has been on the shelves of Hobby Lobby since July), it is easy to overlook Thanksgiving, because Christmas if full of shiny, blingy things...it's hard to not be drawn in by that. But if we don't take time to truly open our hearts and minds to be grateful for all we've been blessed with, do we really deserve more blessings?
I know it's tempting to get going on Christmas - I even begrudged having to put out Thanksgiving decor after Halloween, thinking it would be so much easier to skip right to Christmas and enjoy it a little longer. But I did not - I put out the Thanksgiving decor...and my home looks beautiful and I am reminded each day of the beauty of fall and this wonderful thankful season...that, like the leaves that fall from the tree and clutter my front yard, I need to learn to let go of the "leaves" of this past year and move forward; count the ones I am grateful for and sweep away the rest. And in the spring, new leaves will begin to grow and with them, I will be blessed with new friends, new experiences, new opportunities and new blessings.
Meanwhile, I am looking forward to enjoying every minute of this next week - enjoying my family and friends; enjoying the browns, the yellows and the golds of fall before they are all swept up into trash bags; enjoying the beautiful fall weather with skies of blue, with a decidedly cool nip in the air; and reflecting on all the blessings I have been given over this past year - the new friends, the experiences that have made me a better person and have forced me to grow, the renewed relationship I have with my Heavenly Father, the new opportunities I have been given to serve my community and my family, and the health and lives of each one of my family members.
And then, as I do every year, I will usher in Christmas in full splendor, knowing I also gave Thanksgiving the grand celebration it deserves.
Happy Thanksgiving!
{alicia}
1 comment:
I so understand how you feel. I have felt that way in years past. This year, I have started a little bit of Christmas decorating already. My daughter has already given me a lecture about doing it too early. However, this has been an especially hard year for me and my family, and Christmas makes me incredibly happy, so it is helping to cheer me up somewhat. Perhaps others are feeling the same way. :)
I hope you and your family have wonderful holidays!
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