Giving Thanks by Teresa Pollard

Giving Thanks

 Give thanks to Him, bless His name.  For the Lord  is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting

and His faithfulness to all generations.  Psalm 100:4b-5 NASB

      All my life, Thanksgiving has been one of the most joyous occasions I can remember.  When I was young, we would spend it at Grandma’s house with all my aunts and uncles and cousins.  Grandma would have spent days baking and making turkey, dressing, and all the fixings.  Mom, my aunts, and grown cousins would contribute to the feast, and there would be so many cakes, pies, Jello desserts, and banana puddings it would take all the counters in Grandma’s kitchen just to hold them.  Generally all the tables were filled with food, so we would all take our plates around, fill them with goodies, and then take them outside to eat.  If it was too cold out, we’d sit cross-legged on the floors with our plates on our laps.

As an adult, I tried to carry on my grandmother’s tradition.  My youngest daughter was born on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so most of her life, her birthday fell near, if not on, Thanksgiving.  This gave us even more reason to celebrate, and usually our Thanksgiving dinner was topped off by a birthday cake, since this was the day I could count on her brother and sister and their families being there to celebrate with us.

Thanksgiving is a time I still want my family around me the most, but it doesn’t always happen that way anymore.  My youngest daughter is deceased.  My son lives too far away, and most of the time my oldest daughter has to travel to take her step-children to visit their biological mother for the holiday.  So there is a bittersweet sadness to the joy that once permeated the day for me.  But the reason I celebrate it is still there.

I learned it as a very small child.  Jesus loves me.  This I know.  For the Bible tells me so.   He’s the reason I celebrate, and He’s the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.  I love Him so, and I thank Him for all He had done for me and for my family, bringing us through both the good times and the sorrows.  My prayer today is that when we get to that great Thanksgiving feast in heaven on the day we become the bride of the Lamb, my family will all be there; aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brother, in-laws and outlaws, children, and grandchildren, and even the great-greats if the Lord tarries that long.  And I pray, Lord, help me to do whatever I can to make that happen.  I am Yours.  I bless Your Name.  For You are good.  Your lovingkindness and faithfulness has brought us through even in this generation.  Thank You for loving me, for saving me, and for sharing this day with me; a day to give thanks.

Teresa Pollard is from Richmond, Virginia, and was saved at a young age.  She has a Masters degree in English and Creative Writing from Hollins College, and has served as a Sunday School teacher and children’s worker for most of the last forty years.  Married for forty years, she was devastated by divorce and the death of her youngest daughter, but God has blessed her with a new home and another grandson, and she now resides in Dacula, Georgia.  Her website is TeresaPollardWrites.com

Teresa’s books published by HopeSprings Books:

• “Not Guilty“, February 2013
• “Tokens of Promise“, June 2013

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