In a conversation I had with Nuke earlier this week, I learned that Thanksgiving, and generally this whole week is his favorite of the year. I too enjoy this week, and especially today.
We started our Thanksgiving Day by going to Mass. We like to do this...after all, it's God that we have to thank for our blessings, so going to Mass seems very appropriate on Thanksgiving. During the Homily, our Priest mentioned that one of the things he is thankful for is his struggles. That's something I've struggled with all day (no pun intended). It's easy to be thankful for the our abundance, but for the things in life we struggle with? Not so much. I think that's something I'm going to have to work on going forward. I don't really have any profound thoughts on this topic, I was just struck by the idea.
The rest of our day was a quiet one. It was just the 4 of us this year, so we didn't go the turkey route. Instead, I made a chicken, that was excellent. You can find the recipe that I followed at allrecipes.com. I did deviate a little...I mixed the herbs with the lemon and olive oil and applied it all at once, rather than doing as the recipe suggested and rubbing with the herbs first then the olive oil/lemon juice drizzle. I then stuffed the cavity with half a lemon and 4 cloves of garlic. The chicken turned out moist and delicious. We will make this again.
We had mashed potatoes, asparagus, sweet potato casserole and buns with our chicken, and finished with pumpkin pie for dessert. It was an excellent meal and a really nice day.
Yes, I have many things to be thankful for this year...maybe even the things I struggle with. Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends who take the time to read my blog.
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9 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Jake! Agreed it is hard to be thankful for our struggles... I like to remember that God is continuing to bless us, even through "life's" messes, and that we come out on the other end better for it. Have a blessed weekend!
Happy Thanksgiving! Thankful for our struggles? That will take some thought--sometimes it would just be nice to be "struggle" free.
Very true... it would be nice to be struggle free... and I guess I meant thankful IN our struggles... not thankful FOR... ha! But, in the absence of being struggle free, I will try to just roll with it and be thankful despite it! :)
I should have elaborated more. I think the point is that struggles are part of life, and God gave us this life, so if we are thankful for the life we were given, then we must be thankful for the struggles as well. Just something I had never thought about before.
Thanks for the comments btw. I think "thankful IN our struggles" really nails it.
Some insight from James chapter 1:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."
I would like to suggest that we can (and should) be thankful FOR our struggles too. Aside from the specific direction to do so (as seen above), it is also generally true that we learn the most and grow the most when enduring trials; when life is easy we are happy (worldly happiness) but not necessarily filled with joy (the kind of joy that God wants for us).
I remember preaching a year or two ago on 1 Thess 5:16-18, "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." The call for us to give thanks is unqualified; we are to give thanks in ALL circumstances. Even in our struggles, God is God, and His grace blesses and sustains us.
I suspected if I threw that out there I would get help with it. Thanks for all the thoughts on this! You're the best blog readers ever!
Happy Thanksgiving to Jake and the rest of the Weaver family.
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