A Thanksgiving After The Day of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is done! Over! Completed. Check it off the list. The game is over. Naps have been taken. Dishes have been washed. All that remains is leftover turkey that will most likely be gobbled down while searching for some great Black Friday deals. And perhaps some pie—hopefully. So thanks for coming! See you in a month for some more overeating. Oh…and be sure to bring presents. Yep, Thanksgiving 2024 is in the books.
Now we all know that Thanksgiving is more than just a day. Yes, I’m grateful we have a day to set aside to give thanks, but hopefully this day prompts us to stop and begin to develop a life of gratitude. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in Letters And Papers From Prison that “In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”
So this day after Thanksgiving day is yet another day to make life rich, that is, to don a set of lenses by which we give thanks. And this is what I have done today. Generally the Friday after Thanksgiving for me is usually fairly relaxing—unless you count detoxing from the amount of food eaten the past 24 hours as work. Thus, it serves as a perfect time to spend a few extra moments in gratitude.
What I have done is create a list of things for which I’m thankful. This list could be considered quite short or quite long. It’s all a matter of perspective. I have posted it below so that it might trigger something for which you should give thanks. I’ve also displayed it here as a challenge for you to create your own list. It doesn’t have to be as long. Or as short. And might I exhort you to allow your potential thanksgiving list to become something you read over and make additions to weekly? For by doing so I feel it might aid you in the development of your own personal life of gratitude.
One thing before I write the things of which I’m thankful. Christine D. Pohl has written that “our capacity for gratitude is not connected with an abundance of resources but rather with a capacity to notice what it is that we do have.” As a traditional African-American prayer expresses it: “The Lord woke me up this morning and clothed me in my right mind. He didn’t have to do it, but he did.” Thus, my list is one of me working at being awakened to all the gifts that have been given to me—both small and large.
I am THANKFUL for…
A family that laughs
Walks with dogs
Changing tree colors
A wife who has loved me for almost 35 years and continues to do so,
Good books
Slow days
Coffee at home
Sweet tea
Street tacos
West Texas sunsets
Morning
Evening
Cool weather
A red front door
Writing
West Texas sunrises
Foggy mornings
’80’s rock
A God who listens
A job with an office
People to work with who all care about each other
Cruises
A home to eat, sleep, and live in each day
Memories
My grandfather
My grandmother
My mom
My dad
Health
The month of June
Chips and salsa
The cross
Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas
Washer and dryer
Learning how to play drums and guitar
A soft place to sit at the end of a long day
The opportunity to work with college students at Texas Tech
The parables of Jesus
Coffee shops
The Bible
First Baptist Church in Henderson, Texas
My education at Texas Tech and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
The recent Kansas concert with my wife
Season tickets to Texas Tech basketball
Growing older
Hard days that make me stronger
A God that is present
Gray hair
Dad jokes
Texting my kids
Naps
The stories of my Grandfather
Field Street Baptist Church in Cleburne, Texas
The many students I worked with at Sam Houston State University
New Blue Bell Ice Cream flavors
Pastor friends in Lubbock, Texas
Used book stores
Learning how to type on a typewriter when a senior in High School
Leafwood Press who published The Cross-Shaped Life
A good night’s sleep
Snorkeling with my kids
Learning to play pickleball as taught by one of my boys
Soft serve ice cream
God’s never ending love
Flannel shirts
A soft yet not too soft pillow
Breakfast burritoes
My fellow friends and BSM co-workers at Texas Baptists
Random lunches with my wife
Hearing a good sermon
Board games with family
The smell of books
Grilling out steaks
Weekends with no plans
The resources to travel
Eating at mom and pop restaurants
Watching a good movie with my wife
International students at Texas Tech
My grandmother’s fried chicken
A soft bed
French toast at Rain Cafe in Lubbock
May 13 and March 31 - the days my daughter and twin boys were born
A newly stained fence
Eating breakfast in local restaurants with my family
The sound of waves on a quiet beach
The basketball team I played on/with when in high school at Cleburne, Texas
A God who rescues
Running errands with my wife
The many memories acquired during family travels/vacations
Cold winter Saturday mornings drinking coffee
Birthday wishes from friends
Growing up one block from my grandparents house
A God of grace and mercy
Quiet places to read and study in libraries
Listening to a good podcast
When my wife said “yes” when I asked her to marry me
The memory of hearing my young kids yell “Daddy” when I came home at the end of a day.
My grandfather’s practical jokes
Reading the Psalms
The kindness of the churches where I served as Interim Pastor
Jesus