On his holiday, take few cues from the Chiclet-grin ideals in the greeting card and the grocery ads. Family gatherings are great when theyre great, and often excruciating when they hurt. If yours tend to hurt, recognize you have a responsibility to peace. Your peace. Recognize that in your struggle, you have much company around the country as people deal with testy company. The detachment of self care has a miracle way of caring for -- and calming -- entire households full of simmering, drunken, broken uncles and cousins, whose old grievances heat up conversations and chill on the gravy. Where the Thanksgiving table shows its imperfections, smile, forgive, ease away. Sometimes love speaks its greatest eloquence in some distance, some silence. Not a seething pout, but instead just some time and space to let nerves do what the food does -- settle, nourish, calm. Expect no perfection from your people. Expect humans to behave as humans will -- some wonderful, some less than, all somehow belonging in the eternal life of God. I know, I know, its hard to believe God loves us all the same, especially when Aunt Cass gets liquored up and tries to French kiss Timmys new fiance. And forgive the media idealism. We all know on this Thanksgiving, some people are not expected home. Others, when they get home, will feel like one shoe -- lonesome, worthless and in the way. Yes, yes, some will enjoy a big, beautiful time full of laughter and unspeakable love. Whatever your day brings, bring to it the knowledge you are a living sanctuary. A harbor of love. The heavens speak gratitude for you. To know this, and to be thankful for every morsel of a years worth of food and care, no matter how small, is not just the saying of grace. It is the living of it, as well. Peace, yall. Find a way to serve someone, to light the dark with even an unexpected word of kindness. Give Thanksgiving, by all its definitions. Give thanks for the spirit within you. Knowing your imperfections, and a graceful way with them, will become someones perfect communion, long after the holiday. A banquet, ever warm.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 21:11:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015