Gathering Around the Table

Yesterday was my first Thanksgiving dinner at home in 11 years (if I calculated right). Yes, I've been back in  Arizona two years, but the first year, we went to a friend's house for dinner. Last year, I went to Wisconsin and ate with my brother. This year, I was home.

We talked a lot as a family about what we wanted to do for the holiday. When I lived on my own, my tradition was to serve at Salvation Army on Thanksgiving, and eat dinner the day afterward. But that was my tradition, not my family's. Making plans was a joint effort, not just mine. This year, after we discussed several different ideas, we decided we wanted to host friends who might not otherwise have places to go. So we invited over nine people, and ended up with seven guests. (Yes, I know that might not seem like a lot of people to us, but for a family of three, two of us who were introverts, it was a lot.) We ended up with a total of 10 around our table.

We really wanted to share not only our food, but our blessings as a family at this dinner. We wanted to share our home and our culture and own love. To that extent, I made these thanksgiving jars for our guests:

We'd started a gratitude practice in our home earlier this year, and I thought it would be neat to share it with others. It was. As each person shared their thanks, my heart swelled with gratitude to the God who has blessed us with all this.

Thanksgiving was also about sharing life and life stories. I knew the stories of several friends around the table, but not all. It was interesting to to listen to individual ones tell more of their tales and to hear the thread of God's grace woven throughout. I also had a chance to share about the healing work God has been doing in my life over the past few years.

Some of our guests had to leave early. Most didn't stay long. Only a few could stay to help clean up, but that wasn't really an issue. Thanksgiving was good, and I hope people went away feeling deeply satisfied.

In the end, our Thanksgiving was about more than food (and I think it always should be. It was about filling hearts more than bellies. It was about gathering to share an experience. It was about taking our eyes off ourselves and placing them on the Creator. I was about giving thanks. I don't know if we'll host a dinner this big every year, but for this year, it was special. 

Thanks to all who came, and most of all, to the Creator of it all!