When I was a kid, we would spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my grandparents in Charleston, South Carolina. My aunt and uncle’s family would come in from Ohio to meet our family as well as another set of aunts and uncles that lived near my grandparents. My cousins and I would stay entertained for days to come making up for lost time. We’d eat hors-d'oeuvres and fancy turkey with the finest fixings accompanied by the most delectable desserts. I’d get so stuffed I’d have to lay down just to get my blood pressure back to normal. The next morning, my family and cousins would hit the shopping centers for the Black Friday deals. Sometimes we’d go to the movies or walk the beach at sunset. This Thanksgiving break tradition was one of my favorite times of year. But as time passes, and seasons change, all things must come to an end.
When my Grandpa got sick, we stopped going to their house for Thanksgiving. When he passed away, my grandmother moved in with my dad’s sister. They sold their house, cousins got married, and schedules got harder and harder to sync up. Now that both my grandparents have gone, it sinks in that I’m only left with the Thanksgiving memories of what once was. I can close my eyes and still be at the kids table surrounded by my brother and my cousins laughing at the jokes we’d hear coming from the adult table. But when I open them, I’m at a table with my brother surrounded by our parents and our spouses and kids. Our table looks so different. It feels so different.
The wisest man that ever walked the earth wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1 that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” He goes on to talk about all the different seasons that we will experience: seasons of new, seasons of death, seasons of laughter, seasons of mourning, seasons of throwing things away, seasons of keeping with what is, seasons of speaking, and seasons of silence. And God meant all of it for good.
As humans, I can identify what feels right and what feels not right. Seasons of laughter feel right-it brings me joy. Seasons of mourning feels wrong-it brings me discomfort. Proverbs 14:12 describes this well when it says, “There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way to death.”
There’s been so many people this year who have told me about their Thanksgiving table changing this year due to loss of family, relocated family, additions of family, differences of family, etc. Change often goes into that category of “mourning” and “discomfort” because you are, indeed, mourning the loss of something that once was-a tradition that once was. It’s okay to feel sad at the changing traditions, but remember that even through the changing seasons, God still remains to bring you beauty from the ashes (Isaiah 61:3). When a perfect summer is over, autumn produces some of the most beautiful colors you’ve ever seen.
Your Thanksgiving table might look a little different this year. Maybe this is your season for opportunity; an opportunity to create some new traditions that will last a long time and, most importantly, will bring God glory. Our table might be changing, but we can be certain of one thing: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
Wishing you and all those at your table a very blessed Thanksgiving.
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