Thanksgiving Memories

Written by Joy Mathis Chadwick

I love this time of year – my absolute favorite – but we had our first frosty morning yesterday, including a thin sheet of icy dew on the porch, so that means my porch sitting days are limited to warm sunny afternoons. And then there’s winter! My other favorite!

I’ve pulled out my tried-and-true and gently loved cookbook, getting ready to gather everything up for a couple of all day cooking days for our Thanksgiving meal. Everyone gets their favorite. There are traditional dishes that we have to have, even though they’re not necessarily popular; it’s just traditions that started with my momma and her amazing Thanksgiving feasts. There used to be a time when I could pretty much put a Thanksgiving meal on the table without a recipe or schedule in front of me, but that ship has sailed.

My recipe book is more like a memory book than anything else. I’ve collected handwritten recipes from my momma and my mother-in-law. There’s chocolate smudges and butter stains, which just add to their specialness. I’ve written notes about most of the recipes I’ve collected so that maybe someday my kids might better understand the method to my madness. Next to my Bible, it’s my go-to comfort book.

If my grandson, Benny The Amazing Wonder Boy, were here today, we would cook and laugh and play and tell stories about when Granny was a little girl. (He just can’t grasp that concept yet. I can’t grasp the concept of being this age.) While trying to get him to take his afternoon nap, I would tell him the story of my favorite Thanksgiving memory, and here’s how it goes:

Growing up in the south, snow was a rare occasion, and I’m sure it made headlines the year it came a huge snow – complete with sleet and freezing rain – on the last Thanksgiving that I can remember at my grandma’s house. My grandma lived just down the lane behind our house, so of course I was in and out all the time. I loved that she always had something special for me to do to “help” her; I’m sure now that those special chores were to keep me out of her way. But nevertheless, I loved getting to help her put together this extra special Thanksgiving meal because it was going to be so very extra special this year – some of her 10 kids and their families were supposed to be there. We spent the day before Thanksgiving making desserts and tidying up the house. We had the regular chores to do, in addition to the Thanksgiving preparations; we had to feed the chickens and gather the eggs; we had to milk Tiny, my grandma’s cow, and then churn the milk and make the butter; we had to bring in a ham from the smoke house; we had to make sure there was enough firewood brought in for the night. (Oh goodness . . . this sounds like an episode of Little House On The Prairie! Suddenly I feel even older than I really am!) And all during the day while we were doing the outside chores, we saw the sky darkening and felt the temperatures dropping; my grandma assured me there would be nothing more than just rain. After all, we lived in south Arkansas, and there was never snow on Thanksgiving.

After we had finished all the preparations for the next day, we had supper and watched a little bit of tv before bedtime. (I LOVED spending the night with my grandma. She had a feather bed that was pure comfort and coziness.) I can still remember being so excited as I drifted off to sleep because my cousins would be there the next day! I can still remember my grandpa getting up during the night to put more wood on the stove because we were beginning to hear the sound of sleet on the tin roof; it’s funny how some of the smallest details get burned into your memory. On Thanksgiving morning, not quite daylight yet, my grandpa announced that there would be no Thanksgiving, at least not like we had planned. It had come a huge snow during the night; the trees were covered with ice; it was just a matter of time before there would be no electricity. Grandpa said the roads would be too bad for anyone to venture out. I can still remember the brief look of sadness on my grandma’s face. Because we lived just almost next door to my grandparents, my mom and dad just walked in the drifting snow to their house; I can’t even remember if anyone else got to come that day or not.

So then how did this seemingly ruined Thanksgiving day become one of my favorite memories? My grandma had made everything so very special, and it didn’t seem to matter that it would be just us; she went ahead with her preparations for the big meal as planned. She was making it special for US, whether there was anyone else there or not. I felt so very loved and cozy and happy, basking in the complete attention of both my grandparents. A day that was seemingly ruined has lived all these years in my mind as a day of nothing but happiness and comfort. Childhood memories. What a blessing to have memories made from pure love.

God’s love is like that. He can take what seems to be a ruined situation, and leave us with comfort and peace. He never told us that there would be no heartaches or burdens or worries; quite the contrary. But what He DID tell us is this: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

In this season of Thanksgiving and the approaching celebration of the birth of our Savior, even during the epic year of some of the most trying times our nation has ever experienced, what do we have that we can truly be thankful for? I would encourage you, even if your situation seems hopelessly bleak, to focus on even just one small thing for which you can be thankful. Just one small thing. And then add another. And another. And soon you’ll see that there are indeed blessings all around. Sometimes those blessings come disguised in the form of pain and heartache, but as Christians, we must hold tight to God’s promise that He IS in control and He DOES have a plan. And for that, I am so very thankful.

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One of the many things for which I am thankful is the opportunity to connect with those of you who have taken the time to read my words. Thank you so very much! May God bless you bunches!!