Truly Thankful

Normally on Thanksgiving Day our family heads over to my grandma’s house as a tradition. My girls and I show up earlier than everyone else so we can help her out where needed.

If you remember my post from last year she brazenly informed us before the big day that she “absolutely wasn’t going to cook any of the meal!! Everybody could just bring everything over!!”…her next sentence went like this: “I do plan on making the turkey though, and since I’m making the turkey I’ll make the gravy…and since I’m making those I’ll make the stuffing and mashed potatoes and biscuits to top it off.”

…She’s got some dementia going so not everything makes sense in these more recent years.

I let her know we’d be over extra early Thanksgiving morning to help her—and when my girls and I arrived she had most everything done except potatoes and biscuits…tables were set, relish trays were started, turkey was dried out…and the rest of the family wasn’t due to arrive for another six hours!!

‘Grandma, when did you do all of this?!!”

“I started it last night and pulled an all-nighter,” she replied nonchalantly.

She said she’d gone to bed at six a.m. and woke up at nine! I’m gonna assume that wasn’t the dementia speaking and she really only had got three hours of sleep…which in hindsight would be dementia-default-mode.

So this year she called and said once again that she wasn’t going to host Thanksgiving, and she actually is serious this time. She made plans to go with my uncle to his in-laws which left the rest of us creating a new game plan.

I don’t handle change well. I like routine, habit, and tradition but nevertheless as time moves, change comes at one point or another, sometimes a good thing and sometimes not.

We’ve decided we’ll all gather at mine and Nate’s place tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes it will be different, but honestly I’m not freaking out. I’m not having a meltdown. I’m okay with it…(I actually think I’m starting to grow up somewhat, emotionally. It’s weird.)

My grandma is getting older, it’s a part of life and something I have to accept. I need to be thankful she’s still here regardless of not spending Thanksgiving Day with her. I’ll visit her next week with the kids and put her Christmas tree up and decorate her house and a thanksgiving atmosphere will still be felt within our hearts even if the calendar date isn’t showing November 28th.

Some of you reading this may also be looking at Thanksgiving a little differently than the years before—travel plans might have changed due to weather, maybe finances have left too small of a budget for the abundant feasts you’d hoped for, others have lost loved ones over the past year and healing still feels far away.

Whatever the circumstance—there’s one thing that will never change year after year—God loves us no matter what life has thrown our way. And His word reminds us ‘He is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ (Hebrews 13:8) When life changes, when plans fumble, and tradition breaks—God still remains and He offers a Thanksgiving more gratifying than any turkey dinner can ever, EVER offer. Any day of the year.

Blessings and beautiful Thanksgiving wishes to you all!

-Alicia

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. -1 Chronicles 16:34

Author: alimw2013

About For His Purpose~ My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus. Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him. Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days. Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth. Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen. And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing. *All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner.

24 thoughts on “Truly Thankful”

  3. I like tradition and routine, too. When my grandma passed away and our holidays changed it was really hard to get used to. It’s so comforting to know that God’s love never changes!! Wishing you and your family a very blessed Thanksgiving!

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  5. Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, and whoever else is coming over!
    Our Thanksgiving will be a bit different tomorrow with some family members absent, but I think we’ll enjoy each other’s presence, all of us who will be together. It hasn’t been the same every year for quite some time, so it makes for more of an adventure some years than others!

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    1. Ya that’s a good point!! It’s just a new adventure and I can enjoy that idea!! I pray you and your family have an amazing day Ruth!! We’ll have to chat soon❤️miss ya!!

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  6. Happy Thanksgiving and I pray a special blessing on this new day and a new tradition! We are blessed to have one of our kiddos hosting this year so it is an easy day for us and we are thankful. They have a tendency to not do traditional and my assignment (salad and tea) give us no clue about the menu…, and I’m absolutely okay with that! Because it is about the people and not the food. Abundantly blessed and thankful. ❤️

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  8. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Alicia. I am thankful that our paths have crossed. I enjoy reading your posts, and continuing to get to know a little more about you, your family, and how you tackle life. Thanks for inspiring us. ❤

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    1. Haha she had the turkey cooking in a roaster but started it the night before which is what she would do every Thanksgiving but I’m thinking she didn’t have enough water/broth in the roaster so the turkey was dry not juicy and tender😂❤️

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