Growing up, Thanksgiving was a big deal and has been even as an adult. It has been all my adult life, too. As a kid and even as a grown kid, we always had a lot of family and friends over. It was fun seeing cousins I had not seen in almost a year and catching up on family stuff.

When I had a family, we traveled to parents or grandparents for that traditional dinner. One year mom had invited all the family and friends in the area. And…they all showed up, 34 of them to be exact. We had 4 generations sitting at tables in the living room, dining room, breakfast nook and probably a few outside. It was an amazing time.

And the food…well let’s just say I come from a family that can cook. There was the traditional turkey and dressing, ham and mashed potatoes, candied yams and green bean casserole, giblet and regular gravy, homemade hot rolls and the desserts had to have a table all of their own!

Speaking of food, one particular Thanksgiving comes to my mind and I will never forget it (even though it has been several years ago). When we went to Mom and Dad’s for the Thanksgiving holiday, we kept it pretty traditional with the main dishes. The desserts were a combo of about anything. Now, I have an affinity (no, love or passion) for pumpkin. Pumpkin roll, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread and most of all pumpkin pie. And to make pumpkin pie even better, everyone knows you need about 5 gallons of Cool Whip.

This particular year the turkey was a home run, the ham was cooked to perfection, and all the trimmings were set in place. The table truly looked like something from a food magazine. I went to get some dessert from the dessert table. This year mom had cooked some molasses cookies (probably the only thing I like better than pumpkin), there were snicker doodles, Chex trail mix, chocolate rocky road stuff, apple and cherry pie, pumpkin bread and still so many other things. But, no pumpkin pie. Hmmm, mom must have it in the kitchen. I inquired and she said she decided not to do any pumpkin pie this year with so much other stuff.

WHAT???? No pumpkin pie? That’s impossible, unheard of, why almost blasphemous against Thanksgiving. She thought I might be over reacting. No way, pumpkin is a fall vegetable. It is surely an item they had that first Thanksgiving Day. It is a tradition not only because I think it was at the first Thanksgiving Day, but I don’t remember a Thanksgiving Day at our house without it.

I didn’t know what I was going to do without having pumpkin pie. Maybe I could buy one on the way home, but it would still be frozen or cold. Maybe I could stop at a restaurant and get a slice…no they will all be closed. This was truly a tragedy and I just had to do without any pumpkin pie that year.

The world did not come to an end and my life was not over. Two weeks later my mom sent me a large yellow envelope in the mail. In it was the top of the pumpkin pie box from Schwan’s. She attached a note saying that the pie had been purchased for Christmas. She just wanted to send me a picture to let me know she had not forgotten for the next holiday!

This probably all sounds a little corny to you and for the most part is. I do tend to exaggerate on some things. But, this is one of my favorite memories I have of my mom at the holidays and love recounting the story to others. But there is a greater lesson in this story.

As you read this Thanksgiving is either coming up or past. Either way, my point is still the same. Don’t forget what we are celebrating. It is not just a time to get together and gorge ourselves with all the delicacies of the holiday, visiting with family we haven’t seen in a year or endless football on TV. It is a time to remember and give thanks. Thanks for the food, the family and the football. It is a time to be thankful for health, life, freedoms and so much more.

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians to give thanks in everything. Psalms 107 and 136 remind us to “give thanks to the Lord because He is good…” Sometimes it seems we have nothing to be thankful for. We have fallen on hard times. Life is just tough and you don’t feel like giving thanks. Remember Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail. Beaten and chained in the back part of the dungeon, they were singing hymns and giving thanks at the midnight hour. They still found something to be thankful.

This year, gather around the family you have dinner with. Remember and share a story of your favorite Thanksgiving. Laugh, cry, reminisce, support, and hug, all of these. But most of all, don’t forget what and why we have this holiday.

Buying the Pumpkin Pie Bro. Tim