Thanksgiving is a time when we reflect and think of all we have been blessed with.
But, it’s not a celebratory time for everybody. For some of us, it will never be the same.
There will be an empty seat because death came for them too soon.
An empty seat because one found another table at which to celebrate.
A clean plate set but not used that represents the child that has decided family is no longer a priority.
Suddenly, this year…we notice that things will never be the same.
I think back to the Thanksgiving days of my childhood. I would enter through the front door of my grandmother’s house while the wonderful aroma wafted from the kitchen. The house was full. The table was set. We could not begin until every one arrived.
The smell of pecan pie and sweet potatoes tempted you to enter and get a taste of what awaited. But, you waited…knowing it would be worth it. Being the youngest grandchild, I got to fix my plate first and sit at the small table located closest to the food. This was Thanksgiving.
Year after year, the landscape of family changed. New faces were added. We mourned the loss of empty chairs and celebrated the additions of high chairs and card tables for extra seating. Every year different.
Then, I remember the first year that my grandmother was in a rest home. My heart ached that day when we gathered around the table to give thanks. No longer around her table, no longer with the big family, different. I knew it would never be the same.
But, the older I get, the more I realize, that even in the “never be the same” days, there are treasures to be mined out and enjoyed in the midst of different.
True. The faces have changed. But, let’s not miss the faces that are gathered.
True. Life has changed. But, let’s not look forward to the end of the day and miss the living of this day.
True. It will never be the same. However, truth of the matter is, it never has been.
So, let’s squeeze all of the life we can out of today knowing that God has created this day and still has plenty for us to enjoy.
by Carol Davis
Carol Davis is a morning radio co-host on 106.9 the Light in NC. She is a proud single momma to Ella. A Southern gal through and through but, don’t accept an invitation to dinner cause she can’t cook a lick, which is Southern for “we’re getting take-out.” Visit Carol at cantcookalick.blogspot.com.
