American Automobile Association predicts<\/a>
\nthat 42.2 million people will travel at least 50 miles this year to
\ncelebrate Thankgiving with friends or relatives. (How in the world do
\nthey know that?) Most of these folks are driving to be with their relatives. <\/p>\nIf
\nyou think about it, however, the actual events of Thanksgiving Day can
\nbe rather underwhelming. In addition to watching the Macy’s Parade, tens
\nof millions of people watch football, while tens of
\nmillions of people cook mass quantities of traditional
\nfood. Then they all get together to eat more than they should, only to
\ntop off their gluttony with pumpkin or mince pie. Then there’s clean up,
\na bit more TV, and that just about sums up the day for many of us. It’s
\nmore about armchair quarterbacking and eating voraciously than our hearts.<\/p>\n
A college friend of mine named Jeff decided one year that his
\nfamily’s Thanksgiving was far too secular. So Jeff, as a new Christian,
\nvolunteered to say the blessing before the meal. It was usually done
\nperfunctorily by the most religious of the uncles, which wasn’t saying
\nmuch in Jeff’s family. But Jeff was going to redeem Thanksgiving once
\nand for all. So when it came time to pray, he started by thanking the
\nLord for the family’s many blessings. Then he turned to larger issues,
\nexpressing gratitude for freedom, for our country, and so on. Finally
\nJeff got explicitly religious, using his prayer as an opportunity to
\nevangelize his godless relatives. After about five or six minutes, these
\ngodless relatives were about ready tar and feather Jeff. Finally his
\nmother tapped his arm and said softly, “Honey, don’t you think it’s time
\nto eat now?” In response to which the slightly religious uncle yelled,
\n“Amen!” Jeff’s family immediately dug into the turkey, leaving Jeff
\nsomewhere mid-sentence.<\/p>\n
Now I do not recommend Jeff’s evangelistic strategy. But I do
\nappreciate his intentions. Thanksgiving should be about more than a parade, a gridiron battle,
\nand pumpkin pie. In spite of the modern penchant for referring to the
\nday as “Turkey Day,” it’s still meant to be a time for intentional
\ngratitude. This has been the point of Thanksgiving Day for throughout American history. <\/p>\n