Be Thankful You're Not a Turkey!

[Rebecca Beasley]

Be Thankful You're Not A Turkey!

If you can't think of anything else to be thankful for this year, just be thankful you're not a turkey!
Every
year we go through all the preperations for Thanksgiving, spending more than we can afford, getting the house and the kids and everything else ready to either go to be with family and friends or to prepare the meal and have family and friends over.

Sometimes we might think that it's more of a hassle than anything.

Let me tell you, I've been in attendance of quite a few "Jerry Springer" thanksgivings when family seems to only want to bring up the past and argue about things that shouldn't even matter any more. Instead of being thankful for the family they've been blessed with, they're too busy thinking about all the past wounds and digging up old bones to even think about their blessings.

One year we broke away from the normal tradition. We were stuck in South Texas and had no place to live. We found out first hand what it was like to be homeless. We had to accept hand outs and stayed for about two months at the Salvation Army shelter and it wasn't easy. My children were complaining about what little we had and had sad faces so I decided that I would show them that they had so much to be thankful for even then.

There was a little kitchen set up by one of the local churches and they were always asking for volunteers, so I signed up our family to do the serving. My children put on their little aprons and stood behind the serving line and after a few minutes of complaining that they were hungry and whining about having to wait until everyone else was served before they could sit down and eat the wonderful feast, a few people started to come to be fed.

Amongst them was a young man about 19 years old who had cerebral palsy. He was not able to speak clearly, and he could barely walk, but he had come from several blocks away and had walked here just to get a hot meal. His entire life had been lived in abject poverty. His parents who had raised him were now gone and he had no one.

Next came a young couple who had three small children. They had been left homeless when their house and all their possessions were burned in a fire. They had a high chair brought over to the table for the baby that wouldn't be there this time. He had died of smoke inhalation.

Another person came who was mentally ill and was talking to himself.
Then an elderly woman came who had once held a high position in the community, but now she was old and forgotten by society. She wore old ragged clothes and smelled of urine. But she like everyone else there was a human being who was just as valuable to the Lord as anyone else.

As each person came up to get their food I watched my children's faces change from the whiny kids they'd come in as to the servants of the Lord they had just become. They were getting a great lesson in how much they had to be thankful for. They had two parents who loved them, and although they didn't have a home of their own, they had a roof over their head and food to eat.

They were courteous and asked each person what they could get for them. They were no longer thinking of their own empty stomachs. They were learning how to love someone else and offer their service to them.

After the last person sat down, we were all allowed to get our plates. My children were quiet. Then my son looked at me with big tears in his eyes and said, Mama, I'm thankful that you allowed me to do this. I'll never forget what I learned today. We've got it pretty good compared to most of these people.

I hugged and kissed my babies and realized what a blessing God had given me. And I think of this every year when I sit down to eat my dinner.
Even if it's just a bowl of soup in a soup kitchen, if there are people there, God's there too.