reinvention

i have had a wonderful thanksgiving break. i have had the chance to spend time with my friends and family, while resting and forgetting about school for a bit. i also had the opportunity to join hands with hundreds of people i don't know in a effort to provide meals for those who otherwise would not have one on thanksgiving.

that day has come and gone, but i can't help but continue to think about. i can't help but think about the smiles on the faces of those who rarely have one on their face. i can't help but think about how many people's week went a little better because they know someone cares. that day was beautiful. that day was a "thin place", bringing many to the edge of the reality of the kingdom of god. that day got me thinking.

i love thanksgiving as much as the next person, but this year was different. it was hard to gorge on food when all i could think about were those i had looked in the eye earlier. i had never though much about it before, but thanksgiving doesn't make much sense when i look at it through my christian lense. sure, we should be thankful for all we have, but shouldn't we do that more often, rather than setting a day aside to eat rediculous amounts of food, all the while thinking about everything we have? it might just be me, but it seems sort of selfish in a way. though it may not sit well, i think we could make it work.

maybe it's time we try and reinvent thanksgiving. maybe it's time that we spend thanksgiving making sure others have something to be thankful for, instead of being so proud of all that we have, and forgetting about our neighbor. im not saying that thanksgiving is wrong, because it's not. it is a beautiful day of thankfulness and community, but too often we turn a blind eye to those with nothing so that we can handle eating our body weight in turkey and pie.

i can't help but wonder how many people spent that day alone because no one asked to to be apart of their family. i can't help but wonder how many people went that entire day without being told how much they are loved and cared about. and it scares me to think how many people went that entire day without anything to eat, because we were to busy cooking and stuffing our own faces.

what if we joined hands too ensure everyone had something to be thankful for?...

what if we gave someone with nothing a simple meal, rather than eating until we get the "meat sweats"?...

what if one day a year wasn't enough for us?...

what if we reinvented it?...