As a child, one thing that my family never did on
Thanksgiving was actually give thanks.
Sure, we’d all get together at someone’s house. Early on, I remember going to my uncle’s
place. We’d eat, then the football games
would come on, and the adults would smoke while the kids went outside to
(breathe) goof off or maybe play our own game of tackle football. I always…ALWAYS…got hurt. As I grew older, we began to have the dinner
at my folk’s house. Mom didn't want to mess with a
turkey, so we always had a ham. We might
watch a parade, but football wasn’t really a big deal to my core family. Instead, I’d often end up going to a movie with my
niece and nephew.
But, as I grew, I did eventually notice that being thankful
on Thanksgiving wasn’t something that we paid a whole lot of attention to. And, that bothered me.
When enough time passed that we began having Thanksgiving
dinner at MY house, I decided that we would give thanks to God, and we’d make
it a tradition to go around the table and each person would share just one
thing they were thankful for. The first
time we did that, we were going around…adults and children alike…and everyone
shared. When it came around to my great
nephew Nathan, who was just in middle school at the time, he said: “I’m thankful for violence.”
GASP!
I think everyone’s mouth dropped open! I gruffly said, “What? What did you say?”
His dad was upset.
There was a real risk of actual violence happening as a result of the answer.
Then, he answered my question. He said, “I’m thankful for violins.” (He had been doing band in school and was enjoying learning to play the instrument.)
Around the table, there was a collective sigh of relief, and we all
shared a nervous laugh as we relaxed.
Of course, the whole tone of the dinner changed. We went back to smiles, laughter, and good
times. The food was delicious. The turkey was wonderful. The pies…oh, the pies!
More time has gone by since then. The family that’s left has come to expect to
share. But, one thing I’ve realized
about myself this year is that I am still not thankful enough for my actual
family. My mom and dad have passed
on. I lost one brother when I was only
seven, and my other brother died just a few years ago. I still have nieces, nephews and their kids,
and I have my wife and kids, but of my original core family, it is now only my
sister and me. And, I nearly lost her
last week.
My sister was seventeen when I was born, and she has been
through a lot in her seventy years. A
couple of years before I was born, she was in a terrible traffic accident and
nearly died. Her heart stopped and they
had to crack her chest to get it going again.
Several years later, she had a perforated ulcer and had to be rushed to
the hospital. Just three or four years
ago, she had a bowel obstruction that burst.
And, all the while, she smoked like a freight train.
Yet, she always…seemingly miraculously…pulled through.
Then, last week her COPD/Emphysema nearly took her. I got to the hospital just as they were about
to give her another dose of medicine to try to get her heart rate to drop from
200 bpm. They did, and it went to zero…flat
line. And, just before they were about
to attempt to shock her, her heart started again. Over the next few hours, she stabilized, and
by the next day she was talking up a storm like nobody’s business.
I came back to see her last Friday. I wanted to try to have a spiritual
discussion with her. This is something
we just have never been able to do. It
was just too awkward, and she wasn’t open to listening. However, Friday was different. Frankly, it was the best, most honest talk we
may have ever had.
She knows that she has been blessed. She knows that God has saved her life more
than once. Neither of us knows why…when
so many others don’t get the same blessing…and her life has never shown the first
inkling of gratefulness toward Him for doing so. But, there it is. God had pulled her through again.
I said, “You know, with your emphysema and COPD as bad as it
is, and your age, there can’t be too many more times when this is going to
happen. What do you think about your
spiritual life?”
She replied: “I know
God has saved my life several times, but I’m the kind of person that if I can’t
see something and touch it, then I just have trouble believing in it. I’m ashamed to say it, but despite all the
things that He has done for me, I just can’t seem to have faith in Him.”
My heart was hurting for her as I answered, “But, Kay, you
do have faith. You’ve been talking about
God for the last hour. It may be small
and weak, but you do have it. Just turn
your heart toward Him and reach out for Him.
He’s not far away. He’ll help
you.”
“How will I know,” she asked, “If He’s listening?”
“You’ll know,” I said.
“You’ll know.”
We couldn’t go much further at that moment. But, it was a start. And, I had asked God on that night just over a
week ago, when her heart was racing over 200 only to stop and restart again,…I had
asked Him to bring her back, if I could still make a difference in her life. So, that talk was a start, and I’m hopeful that
God will bless me with more opportunities in the coming days and weeks to turn
that start into a new life for her. If
you are reading this, please pray for my sister. Not so much for her health, except that God
would grant her the time to finish reaching out for Him. But, more so, pray for her faith. Pray that God will help her find it…and help
her to find Him.
And finally, be truly thankful this Holiday season for the
family that you have. Those that are
easy to love, and those who are not.
And, take the time to love them.
From one man he made all nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. -Paul to the Athenians, Acts 17:26-27
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