Ahhhh, Thanksgiving!! When you think of the day, do you think of family/friends, food and football? These are good things. For the cooks out there, it takes a LOT of planning. How much food for how many people, seats for all of them, and the schedule for cooking all the food to coordinate everyone sitting down together to eat it! And of course, do we have a buffet or pass everything around the table?
I think most people are concerned on some level about what will be passed around the table. Some families are ALL about the turkey while others have ham or maybe chicken. After that is cut and passed, there are the candied yams/sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing/dressing (It’s the same thing; one is cooked in the bird. The other in a dish.), and possibly various salads and other vegetables. Those totally depend on the families involved, the family background and location. As my husband reminded me, hot rolls are part of the meal as well!! After everyone has indulged themselves, we come to the best part – the desserts: pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and/or apple/cherry!! In my family, we do chocolate pecan pie and often pineapple pie along with the pumpkin. Don’t forget the newcomer on the buffet table: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!!
Are you aware there are those that don’t even do a traditional Thanksgiving meal? I know…scandalous, right? But, is what I pass around the table what is most important thing about the day? Yes, but I’m talking about our words and not just our dishes. Say what? How do you talk to those you are seeing? Do others savor your words, or do they taste more like a green persimmon, bitter and sour? Make no mistake; the words you speak leave an aroma of sweet, sour, or bitter just like the food you pass around the table.
Why should I be concerned about my words? Why is this so important? Other than not wanting to give everyone indigestion, I get blessed just by sharing the pleasing aroma of gracious, encouraging words. Many times we encourage others to do the same by our sweet words! How many of you can think of a time when what you were eating soured and your stomach began an uncomfortable swirl with the conversation going on around you?
Our words ARE important!! Proverbs 15:17(CSB) tells us “Better is a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.” Many of you know it’s true because you’ve personally experienced it! We much prefer sweetness like in Proverbs 16:24(CSB) “Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.” And Colossians 4:6(CSB) tells us “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.”
What we say is as important as how we say it! “No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:9, CSB) Again, what are you passing around the table?
We have sooooo many things to be thankful for and we are supposed to be sharing them with our family, especially the children. How God is working in your life, what He has done, and the many ways He’s provided should be shared with all. Psalm 9:1(CSB) “I will thank the LORD with all my heart; I will declare all Your wondrous works.” Joel 1:3(CSB) “Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation.” We need to pass along what God desires of us; what He’s doing!
We who have Jesus as Lord of our lives MUST share with the next generation God the Father’s gift of salvation, His continual work in our lives, and the many blessings we have because of HIM! My final passage is a little longer, but says clearly why the words we speak are so important.
My people, hear my instruction; listen to the words from my mouth. 2 I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past— 3 things we have heard and known and that our ancestors have passed down to us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but will tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, his might, and the wondrous works he has performed. 5 He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children 6 so that a future generation— children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children 7 so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep his commands. 8 Then they would not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Psalm 78:1-8 (CSB)
What we pass around the table this Thanksgiving Day should include not only that glorious dish of turkey with the fixings and the pie, but words that lead us as well as our next generation to the throne of God. May you and yours be blessed on this special day of giving thanks and may it be continued all year long.
Until the next time we see you here at CultivatingFaith.org, God Bless! #CultivatingFaithOrg
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