Our entire family gathered in Nashville this Thanksgiving...all twenty two of us, along with an exchange student from China. It has been 'delicious' on every level, savoring the reconnecting, the conversations, the food. I know our twins, Andi & Dori, have put weeks of effort towards making it special; and they were successful. Thanksgiving for the Riedemann's was perfect.
What struck me this year was the 'plenty' we so take for granted. We began our feast with a table full of appetizers and then there were two turkeys; one roasted and one fried, bowls filled with stuffing, mashed potatoes, southern greens, corn pudding, fennel and citrus salad, cranberry sauce, and fluffy rolls. We will feast again today on the abundance that was left over. I'm sure not one of us isn't already looking forward to that time.
As Americans we have iconized this holiday as a time to be thankful for the 'plenty' this great country has afforded us and to feast accordingly, often forgetting the hardship of the early settlers who overcame starvation, disease, and the sacrifice of family and friends, to settle here, where they could pursue freedom and faith. So, even though the Thanksgiving prayers have been offered, let us remember that what we enjoy wasn't handed to us without great sacrifice and hardship, nor that it is fragile. "Dear God, thank you for this great land, for having been a free people, and may we ever be mindful that there may be personal cost required to retain it." God bless America!
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