Sometimes…
it’s the little things
like putting in the extra leaf
and keeping window watch;
then taking covered dishes at the door;
and hugging through coats
that bring in winter’s air.
Staring fondly at the face
come furthest home;
laughing with the funny uncle
in the kitchen;
holding hands once large and small—
but ever more alike—
around the laden table;
and smiling at the changeless gaze
(framed on the far mantle)
of one not there to pray.
It’s the little things
that make Thanksgiving.
The tastes and smells
and long-awaited feast
at best are just
the garnish of the day.
It’s the enormity
of little things
providentially in place
that lumps our throats
and lifts our thoughts
…at grace.
© 2006 Tom Kapanka
I wrote these lines fifteen years ago in a time when my family and extended family used to gather for all-day Thanksgiving feasts with 20 to 30 under one roof. Those were good times, but even as I wrote these words in 2006, they were beginning to fade. The "families tree" grows, and the branches reach further and further making such gatherings more rare and more precious. Then came Covid which shook us all to our very roots.
I wrote these lines fifteen years ago in a time when my family and extended family used to gather for all-day Thanksgiving feasts with 20 to 30 under one roof. Those were good times, but even as I wrote these words in 2006, they were beginning to fade. The "families tree" grows, and the branches reach further and further making such gatherings more rare and more precious. Then came Covid which shook us all to our very roots.
Last year I put together this video to help cheer up the CCS family (nine months into the pandemic). Who would have guessed that 12 months later this holiday would still be clouded by that virus. It's quite possible that your celebration today, like ours, has fewer people around the table for one reason or another. Even so, let's lift our hearts and "Thank God for This Thanksgiving Day!"
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Lord, we thank you for Calvary Christian Schools. We thank you for meeting our needs through the years and for the hope of continued blessing for years to come. We thank you for the more than 120 homes in our school family, and for the many new families who joined us this fall.Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow!
