“To make bread or love, to dig in the earth, to feed an animal or cook for a stranger – these activities require no extensive commentary, no lucid theology. All they require is someone willing to bend, reach, chop, stir. Most of these tasks are so full of pleasure that there is no need to complicate things by calling them holy. And yet these are the same activities that change lives, sometimes all at once and sometimes more slowly, the way dripping water changes stone. In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life”. ~ Barbara Brown Taylor
Today, I started my Thanksgiving morning off reading this quote. To me there was so much meaning in it. I couldn’t do anything but smile and ponder.
I continued my morning laying in bed much later than I typically do, smiling, pondering, enjoying blogs, news articles, photos, all of others sharing their gratitude for loved ones, delicious holiday feasts, health, family Thanksgiving traditions, you know…all the things we tend to get very mushy gushy over these times of the year. (Don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with that! I’m mushy gushy too!)
I always love working the days that lead up to the big holidays. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I boast and exhale so much positive energy during these times! I feel like it affects everyone. I see it in my co-workers as they inhale and exhale it too! This then affects the customers that we serve, they feed off all of the holiday buzz, even being so far away from loved ones here in South Korea. They are cheerful, more understanding, friendlier. What an incredibly intoxicating feeling! A holiday high! But why, why do we need the holidays to feel like this? To be reminded of the simple everyday things we take for granted? (Don’t worry, I’m guilty of this too, a work in progress).
Continuing my pondering from bed this Thanksgiving morning, I cant help but think of all the many whispered prayers on this day of thanks, including mine. These Prayers will consist of many thanks, personal pleas for guidance and help, prayers of recognition to a higher power, our inner cores, our dear loved ones (to include our pet companions), friends, and the planet that unites us all together in one way or another.
Family, friends, enjoy your day! Please remember, give thanks, take all that mushy gushing and make something of it! Give back! Pay it forward somehow and someway.
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We are so blessed and thankful to have met the G family while living in South Korea. This marks our second year getting to carry on the Thanksgiving dinner tradition together. This year they so graciously opened up their home to us! We couldn’t imagine passing up the opportunity to spend time with them and enjoy their sweet little munchkins too.
Now bring on that homemade cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie! (You should know by now, I’ve always got my mind, and sweet-tooth, on the most important parts of the meal) Dessert!
Happy Thanksgiving!
