147 October 6, 2023
I’m often asked how we five people are getting along in our shared home. It’s not all a bed of roses, but this story tells a lot.
Yesterday evening, Oct. 9, unusually, only Steven and I were sharing the evening meal. I had done chicken drum-sticks on the rotisserie, with potatoes and beans from the garden. Our conversation soon came to the topic that was most on our minds: What about our Thanksgiving Meal? Because of family gatherings, Judy and I weren’t available before Monday to have a general gathering at the house. Who would we invite? Well, such and such were alone, and usually came to the sing-alongs. Why not invite them? Etc…..
The number, as we figured it, was about fifteen, and growing. Where were they all going to sit? Where would we put the food? What would people bring? These were our big concerns.
It struck me as to just how lucky we were, sitting down to eat as much as we wanted, in a warm and secure house, in good health, our biggest problem at the moment being that we had too many friends and not enough room for the food. How many people in the world were as lucky?
It seems as though we humans have a ‘worry quotient-capacity’ that must be filled. Those who are in drastic need or danger have their ‘quota’ filled and overflowing. We who aren’t in danger, make mountains out of molehills, forcing good news and lucky situations into negative slots. It’s good to catch ourselves and back up to realize just how lucky we are, in order to respond with new life rather than the negative.
I don’t believe for a second that God ‘made it happen’, blessing me with a soft life and circumstance, dictating that others get bombed, or starve. I’m living in this situation because of God’s Will. But I am able to respond to it. Am a ‘responsible’. That is, I have the opportunity and ability to share it with others, to ‘grow’ it to affect even more people than ourselves. That is what friends do.
So, no, we don’t really know just who is coming to Thanksgiving Dinner. We’ll have a turkey that will feed twenty and have coffee and tea ready. Everyone else will bring the rest. Above all, we’ll be Thankful that we have each other and are doing our best to welcome and learn from each day and each other. Let’s all learn to be more thankful by learning to give and receive from the gifts of each other. And it’s best done with food and song.
Giving and sharing in thanks,
Anthony
